Subject: A vote too far
From: "Alan Franklin, ProgressNow Colorado" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:58:52 -0500 (CDT)

ProgressNow Colorado

Dear Friend,

Destroy Medicare? Fight Back!
Two weeks ago, I wrote asking you to contact our Colorado members
of Congress, and demand they reject the right-wing 2012 federal budget
proposal. This budget would destroy Medicare in ten years

http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=MeAR6h4l2W8cgh6J3XGxhg..

http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=3lcqgOCWUlgl8WJ0DDhRYw..

, slash funding for essential,
basic functions of government like education and transportation, while
giving
away even more massive new tax cuts to the richest Americans and
corporations. Literally thousands
of Coloradans responded and directly contacted your members of
Congress using ProgressNow Colorado's
innovative online tools: which we can offer because of member support.

http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=mDFpRLeTUVzeig7tGcMRdw..

Now that four Colorado representatives--Cory
Gardner, Doug Lamborn, Mike Coffman, and Scott Tipton--have gone on
the permanent record in
support of destroying Medicare by voting for the so-called "Ryan
Plan," I
wanted to share with you just a few of the thousands of letters
Colorado voters wrote to
them, both before and after their vote.

Jan in Carbondale wrote to her Congressman, Scott Tipton: "Your
vote for the Ryan budget did not surprise me but I will not forget it
at election time! Folks have worked hard for
years and paid taxes for this coverage. 
As a retired senior I know how important Medicare is to us.  We
were self employed for over a decade
and had to buy health insurance on the open market.  It was
expensive and was a disaster... As a social worker with
the elderly I know that a major factor that has kept our senior
population from
bankruptcy and/or overwhelming poverty has been Medicare.  I
would never trust the insurance
companies with taking care of our seniors' health!  You are a
fool to think that they would."

Daniel in Pueblo tells Rep. Tipton: "The budget proposed by
Rep. Ryan is a blatant attack on the most vulnerable in our
society.  It is a way of balancing the federal
budget to, at the same time, allow further reductions in taxes on
wealthy
individuals and corporations.  Rep.
Ryan's proposed budget relies on unproven gimmicks such as 'tax
cuts will
increase revenue' and 'further tax cuts for the wealthy
and businesses will
result in job creation.'  Neither
of these gimmicks has so far resulted in significant job
creation..."

Lisa in Fort Collins has a message for freshman Rep. Cory
Gardner: "I am an unaffiliated voter in Colorado.  I am
appalled at the GOP's total disregard for Americans'
well-being.  I am and have always
been a member of the middle class, and the GOP's behavior has already
done so
much harm to so many people. 
Please remember, we elected
you and we can and will remove you from office at the next election
should you
continue to disregard what is best for us and all Americans!"

Cynthia in Fort Collins, to Rep. Gardner: "After working all
my life and consistently contributing to welfare of social funds in
order to
receive Social Security and Medicare, I now have to face an uncertain
future at
the age of 66? How reckless and arrogant can Congress be to propose
cuts that
hit the most vulnerable citizens. What about military cuts and equal
taxes for
the wealthy? My faith in politicians has gone from some to
none."

Around the nation as members of Congress went home for
Easter recess, Republicans who supported the "Ryan Plan"
budget have been
greeted with outage from their angry constituents (House Republicans
face backlash at home over budget plan, Los Angeles
Times, 4/23/2011). There is a growing sense among many Republicans
that
they have made a terrible mistake by voting for the privatization of
Medicare,
and massive cuts to vital government services while giving new tax
breaks to
the rich. This is not the "fiscal responsibility" they
promised Americans.

Now we fight back. For going on seven years now, ProgressNow Colorado
has taken the fight to Colorado conservatives when they vote against
the best
interests of our state. Between now and Election Day 2012, every
Colorado voter
needs to know what Reps. Gardner, Tipton, Coffman and Lamborn have
committed to: just as we've
done with their right-wing predecessors.

Musgrave Billboard

http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=xlGvCaDNa8Dewu-EMBTBDA..

But we can't do it without you. We never have, actually. Citizen
support for ProgressNow Colorado is how we helped stop

http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=MBmkp9V9mVrj3VksawKfSg..

Bob Beauprez, Marilyn Musgrave,
Bob Schaffer, and Ken Buck. If your goal in the next 18 months is to
hold the
right wing in Colorado accountable for their senseless attacks on the
institutions that make our country great, I firmly believe there is no
better
investment than ProgressNow Colorado.

Don't take my word for it-ask ex-Rep. Marilyn Musgrave.
Please click here to chip in $20 or whatever you can, either as a
one-time or
recurring monthly donation

http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=_IpRmJXDQ4fThRIJ2JfYWg..

.

Because 2012 is going to be a big, big year.

Sincerely,

Alan Franklin

© 2010 ProgressNow Colorado. All rights reserved.

You received this mailing because you either subscribed to the
ProgressNowColorado.org mailing list, or were referred by another
user.

This email was sent to: [email-masked]

Unsubscribe: http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/CO?i=RVld6Q1QwiFpCxOcykb0zyEpOsfJGWfW&cid=1182
View Message as a Web Page: http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=SvB__5ispaWPRiKIOpZgAw..
Tell a Friend: http://progressnowcolorado.pnstate.org/site/R?i=ZZNFOvwD-k8Q6LaFhpTagQ..