WILLIAMSON
FOR
U.S. CONGRESS
DEMOCRAT
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 6
“The Future Can Be Ours.”
480-607-9726
Dear Friend,
Conservatives seem often to want to say that they believe in the U.S.
Constitution and that, if only we could follow that, everything would be
okay. Do they feel the same way about the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE by
Thomas Jefferson? In the last sentence of the first paragraph of that
document, Jefferson states: “…a decent respect to the opinions of
mankind requires that they” (the people who are dissolving the political
bands which have connected them with another) “should declare the causes
which impel them to the separation.” Jefferson was turning outward in a
respectful way to the rest of the world to explain to people in other
countries why the colonies were breaking away from Great Britain.
Yet, unless there has been a miscommunication, which I doubt, Rep.
Schweikert was not respectful to me, a constituent in his District, when I
made a proposal recently that he and I have a debate, possibly at Saguaro
High School, the alma mater for both of us. I mean, he could have
responded and said that he felt it was too late for a debate; and yet I
received no response whatsoever. I sent him an e-mail in which I told him
about my idea, I talked with a member of his staff–his District director,
Kevin–, and I left a voicemail at his campaign headquarters that was
never answered.
So it appears that he ignores his constituents when to communicate with
them does not serve his purpose.
Is that the proper attitude of a congressman who is supposed to be serving
the people in his district?
Rep. Schweikert turns a deaf ear towards whatever does not serve his
morally parsimonious Conservative agenda. For example, on Sept. 19, 2013,
he voted for the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013 which
approved deep cuts in food stamps. To wit: “House Republicans narrowly
pushed through a bill on Thursday that slashes billions of dollars from
the food stamp program, over the objections of Democrats and a veto threat
from President Obama.” (“House Republicans Pass Deep Cuts in Food Stamps,”
by Ron Nixon, New York Times, Sept. 19, 2013, www.nytimes.com).
Rep. Schweikert voted for these deep cuts even though 16.2%, or just over
117,000 people, in Congressional District 6 are food insecure. The food
insecurity rate for children in our district is, incredibly, 24.6%–1 in 4
kids–just under 37,000 children. This information was given to me by
David Martinez, the Advocacy and Outreach coordinator for the St. Mary’s
Food Bank Alliance based in Phoenix.
Mr. Martinez further told me that “food insecurity” is defined as when
people “don’t know where the next meal is coming from.”
When I am your representative in Congress, I will not vote for cuts in the
food stamp program.
Another area where David Schweikert–whose net worth in 2010 was $6.2
million–(Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com)–has shown himself to
be insensitive to his constituents is in his lack of empathy for those
with pre-existing medical conditions who, prior to the Affordable Care
Act, were unable to enroll in quality health insurance programs.
Going back about a year, this is what we find: “The House GOP has voted to
repeal Obamacare 41 times, as of last count, but that link is from Sept.12
and maybe by now the number is higher yet.” (“Is Republican Intransigence
Reasonable?” by Ross Douthat, Opinion Pages, New York Times, Sept. 30,
2013, www.nytimes.com).
So as of a year ago, Rep. Schweikert was still determined to be
indifferent to those who could not get quality medical care due to a
pre-existing condition. As far as I know, his position remains the same.
Moreover, with just over 117,000 people suffering from food insecurity in
Congressional District 6, one can only speculate at the number who,
without Obamacare, would not have quality health insurance.
This past April, a budding success story bloomed: “In an afternoon Rose
Garden ceremony, Mr. Obama announced that a late surge of customers to
HealthCare.gov before Monday’s deadline had pushed insurance signups to
7.1 million, slightly more than the administration’s original goal. The
achievement was somewhat remarkable considering the bureaucratic and
technical nightmare that surrounded the website’s debut last October.”
(“Obama Claims Victory in Push for Insurance,” by Michael D. Shear and
Robert Pear, New York Times, April 1, 2014, www.nytimes.com). This was not
an April Fool’s joke.
The news this past week is as follows: “The number of uninsured Americans
has fallen by about 25 percent this year, or about eight million to 11
million people.” (“Is the Affordable Care Act Working?” by Margot
Sanger-Katz, New York Times, Oct. 26, 2014, www.nytimes.com).
When I am your congressman, I will continue to support the full
implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
If you would like to make a financial contribution to my campaign, check
out my website at williamsonforuscongress.com. Click on “Make a
Donation” and, by means of safe and secure PayPal, donate to your
dedicated Democratic candidate.
If you would like a yard sign, please let me know. I still have some
available.
The Future Will Be Ours when we acknowledge that Rep. David
Schweikert–“King David”–shows a high-handed obliviousness to the
sufferings of many of his constituents. He has voted for bills to
drastically reduce the funding for food stamps. And he has persisted
perversely in trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even though it has
reduced the number of uninsured in our country over the past year by 25%.
In the same way that Jefferson wrote of the British people, so also King
David of Congressional District 6 has “been deaf to the voice of justice
and of consanguinity” (Rep. Schweikert and I are both graduates of Saguaro
High School.) And in the same way that the early Americans disencumbered
themselves of King George III, so also should the voters of Congressional
District 6 throw off the yoke of the social conscienceless leadership of
David Schweikert.
Please vote for me this Tuesday, November 4th, on Election Day.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
John
W. John Williamson
Scottsdale, Arizona