Sen. Inhofe (R) - Me no read bill - Me against bill

Originally posted by astrij
For those of you claim he should be commended for adhering to what his constituents want; Is it really what they want or what they have been told they want?

I think it is a fairly safe bet that very few Americans that are opposed to this reform have even bothered to read the 1000 page document for themselves.

Rather, they have formed their opinions of it based upon the propaganda and misinformation that is spread via certain media conglomerates throughout the US.

I think you have hit the nail on the head here.

In this case the Senator is a "True Representative" of his constituents in every way.

Ignorance begets ignornace.

We find ourselves at the crossroads of apathy and ignorance, so polarized in our spin doctored beliefs that we cannot begin seperate fact from fiction.

Originally posted by midnightbrigade
Doesn't matter if there IS something good in there, If my constituents don't want it, I wouldn't vote for it.

I know it's purely theoretical, but say upon careful examination of this very large bill you suddenly discover that it would benefit your electorate. Wouldn't it be your duty to inform your constituents, so they can make a more informed choice?

Secondly, this shouldn't even be an issue. This bill should have never seen the light of day, and ALL of Congress should vote no. It's not in their authority to make a national health care plan. Ever heard of the 10th amendment?

Yes I did. Your reference to it is bogus. If you had it your way, the social security would shut down.

reply to post by midnightbrigade
I am one of his constituents, and I would greatly appreciate it if he would read the bill. I am an Oklahoman and a life long republican, but this attitude of us v them is almost exclusively coming from the right, and is killing legitimate dialogue in this nation.

I have my own reservations about the bill, but I am not such a corporate stooge that I believe it is ok to say no without having read the d*mn thing. I am sick to death of Inhoffe embarrassing my home State. I promise to do everything within my power to get him out of office the next time he is up for election.

www.opencongress.org...

I have health insurance. HealthNet raised their rates 33% in one year, and have doubled them over the past 4 years. Does that sound like good management and fairness to you?

I like the HR3200. I think it hits all the important ways of straightening out our health care system. It sounds fair.

Having said that, I have to believe that the opposition must be paid off by the health insurance industry. When I see a member of congress ignoring the bill, it raises questions in my mind. I don't see specific arguments against the bill, with references and justification. I just see bias. I see partisan politics. I see the sacrifice of the hopes and needs of the American citizens without the regard of their representatives. I think it is cowardly to play politics while people are and have been hurting on this issue since the beginning. America needs to take care of its citizens.

It's a great bill. Pass it.



[edit on 28-8-2009 by Jim Scott]

So, what if there was a bill that took away your civil liberties, I mean, did away with the bill of rights?

And then, what if it was named in a misleading manner? And so, most of the people in his jurisdiction were for it, but never read it or understood that bill in first place?

Those of you that say he is the voice of his constituents, and if the majority of those he represents are for this hypothetical bill then he should vote for it, right?

Except this has already happened and the bill was the patriot act and i would have preferred that he read it and voted against the d*mn thing despite the ignorance of his constituents. I love Oklahoma, it is my home state, but it is filled with sheep, and their opinion does not necessarily reflect that of the most educated among us. We certainly deserve a voice, and the will of the people is important, but he is elected to educate the people on the legislation and vote on behalf of their interest, not necessarily on behalf of their wishes.

Any argument with this logic is self serving, and I challenge any of you to question the soundness of it.

*edit to add: If this were not the case, then why not simply have direct votes by the people on every piece of legislation proposed, why have an elected legislature in the first place?

[edit on 28-8-2009 by Artephius Abraxas Helios]

reply to post by jkm1864


Really? You make a hundred thousand dollars a year by making 16.47 an hour? What, are you working like a hundred hours a week? Even working EIGHTY hours a week only puts you at about seventy-nine grand. Whatever man, good for you. You make a butt-ton of money and pay for your own stuff. Think about those "slobs" who are barely making minimum wage and work TWO FULL TIME JOBS, and just as many hours as you, WHILE raising families. Yeah, those are the people that this bill is looking after. The governent OPTION is not going to completely replace private insurance. Yes, some companies might drop their employee plans because they won't have to provide it anymore, but employer provided insurance is sort of a rediculous system anyway, and they can drop you anytime they want as it is. It's exactly what it says it is: an OPTION. Just one choice among many more that are out there now, and will REMAIN available. Yes, America has the best health care in the world... FOR THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT.

Also, for everyone claiming they're read the bill and understood it all: I wonder how many of you have the read the some 9,000 other pages of necessary legislature required in order to FULLY understand the current bill. This house bill is simply made up entirely of addendums on dozens of other laws already in place. So unless you've been keeping track of every other single piece of healthcare legislature to come out in the last decade, I very highly doubt that you understand this bill. And for the record, no I have not read it, but I have tried to educate myself on its contents all the same.

And one final thing, as iterated by an earlier post: you don't want any government oversight on healthcare? Well I guess you won't mind working a hundred hours a week for the rest of your natural life, jkm1864, because you won't be able to rely on Medicare and Social Security when you retire. Oops... sorry!

[edit on 28-8-2009 by dwiggen]

While I would like healthcare reform and am in favor of most of what is in this bill, I can't really blame anyone for rejecting it alltogether. I would oppose Inhoke just because he is against helathcare reform in general.

I can guarantee that no one on either side is in favor of everything this bill contains. Bills like this need to be broken down into dozens of pieces and each piece should be voted on independently. It is the only way to get to meaningful legislation without a multitude of pork and corporate concessions.

The problem is less what the bill contains than how what it contains is decided.

reply to post by sligtlyskeptical


Exactly! You SHOULD OPPOSE INHOFE just because he's refusing to read the bill!

Like I said before, he's against anything that he deems "liberal." In this case, health care reform is not good, so he doesn't want it.

But I'm telling you, Oklahoma citizens should be be worried. You have a guy who just said that he will not read the bill at all!

Now, that also brings up another important question: How many other bills is he not reading? if he proclaims that he will not read this one, have there been other important bills he never read?

I'm scared, people.

Is it a fair assumption to make that if he's not reading the HR3200, that he's also not reading what his constituents are sending him?

My last comment on this ... (I mean it this time)

With so many of you seemingly happy with this level of incompetence from our elected officials it is no wonder we are getting shafted left and right (pun intended) by our government.

And who's to blame them. If I was in their shoes I'd see things like this and also say ... "these idiots don't even care if we know what's in a bill and they still support us" ... then I'd go on and steal your money, your rights, and everything else you care about, for I will know that you don't care or too blinded by party allegiance to call me on it.

Everyone here keeps talking about how bad our government is ... well ... it is surely our fault. If this conversation is any indication, we are getting EXACTLY the government we deserve.

[edit on 28 Aug 2009 by schrodingers dog]

reply to post by cranberrydork


Generally speaking, no, I do not think that is a fair assumption. HR3200 is a House bill that is still under negotiation. Its entirely possible that it may never reach the Senate for a full vote. I would not expect a member of the Senate or the House to read every proposed, unpassed bill in the opposing chamber.

Senator Jim Inhofe, and all around genius

I never get tired of irony

Since this is ATS, perhaps this example will drill home what's wrong with this Senator's refusal to even read the Bill:

Anyone remember The Patriot Act? They passed that one without reading it, just voted along party lines.

And don't even get me started on the Bank Bailout Legislation...

Originally posted by JaxonRoberts
Since this is ATS, perhaps this example will drill home what's wrong with this Senator's refusal to even read the Bill:

Anyone remember The Patriot Act? They passed that one without reading it, just voted along party lines.

And don't even get me started on the Bank Bailout Legislation...

Exactly. Everything these days is decided based on partisanship. Collaboration and unification for the betterment of a nation is unheard of. It is all about mud slinging, divisiveness, and petty bickering, and outright hatefulness. And every mainstream media corporation assists these buffoons regarding their agendas.

Flip the word media around and what do you get? Aidem. As in aid 'em.

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


The Patriot Act was passed because Bush forced it through to a vote, thereby staging a coup on Congress because they were not allowed to vote on it, voting instead blindly and ignorantly.

Bush to Congress : Trust me fellas, I know how to handle these terrorists...

Congress to Bush : Okay Dubya, we'll let ya.

This is something very few American's know about or have any clue of having happened.

reply to post by vor78


So then you do expect them to read every email, letter, etc. from constituents that crosses his desk? Your answer is a little unclear, as it didn't seem to address the question....what about whether or not he reads what is written to him from the good citizens of Oklahoma? Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain....

I wouldn't expect every one of them to read every single bill, proposal, etc. either. They can ignore all the resolutions recognizing Pig Snoot Oklahoma's High School Marching Band they desire. But I damn sure expect them to have some kind of intimacy with legislation of this importance. It is after all...their job.

And I damn sure wouldn't stand up and yell "Bravo!" for a politician with this degree of a lack of insight. He opened his mouth and demonstrated his "lack of giving a hoot."

[edit on 28-8-2009 by cranberrydork]

I"m surprised that anyone would claim that they couldn't blame these politicians for reading these bills before they are shot down or passed. It's there bloody job to read these bills. It doesn't matter if the bill is two pages or two thousand. That is what they are paid to do. That is what American taxpayers pay them to do.

For them to do anything less is incompetence and down right apathy. And they should damn well be called out for it.

reply to post by cranberrydork


I don't know how much correspondence he receives from his constituents, so I do not know if he can possibly read every single bit of it based upon sheer volume. Is it possible that he does? Maybe so, maybe not.

On the other hand, I think you were insinuating in that post that he wasn't reading *any* of it due to his stance on HR3200, and yes, I think that's unfair.

[edit on 28-8-2009 by vor78]

Originally posted by astrij
For those of you claim he should be commended for adhering to what his constituents want; Is it really what they want or what they have been told they want?

I think it is a fairly safe bet that very few Americans that are opposed to this reform have even bothered to read the 1000 page document for themselves.

Rather, they have formed their opinions of it based upon the propaganda and misinformation that is spread via certain media conglomerates throughout the US.

I would take that same bet for the Americans who are FOR it.

This is what I find funny. It doesn't matter what the bill is or who is proposing what, those who are in favor for it always act smarter then those who are in opposistion.

You can say what you want, but I doubt you have read this bill. If you are brave enough to admit the truth, tell me something. Why are you for it when you have no idea what it says?

Maybe it is you who has formed your opinion around propaganda?

reply to post by astrij

It doesn't matter if the bill is two pages or two thousand.

Sure it does. Are you confident that anyone who has claimed to have read that Bill understands the implication of every single paragraph. I'm not. And furthermore the lay person doesn't have the time nor the ability to read the Bill and fully understand it. How is one able to support such a monstrosity.

There is no way the supporters of this bill, in large majority, are in full comprehension of this Bill. It is just not possible.