health care

I have made many less than warm remarks about my Congressman, Tom Reed. Now it is time for me to say something nice about him.

It is hard for me to find just one thing to admire about Tom Reed. I actually can't choose between his bravery and his loyalty. Tom Reed showed true bravery in last year while some of his fellow Republicans were running away from angry constituents who were furious that their Representatives were jeopardizing their lives by trying to kill the Affordable Health Care Act and replace it with a plan that did not guarantee coverage of pre-existing conditions. Witness Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman who snuck out a side door before a community meeting even began January 2017 when he saw that over 150 angry constituents showed up. Or California Congressman Tom McClintock who scurried away from his constituents in February 2017.  Only 13 Republicans held Town Halls during June 2017 because the rest were avoiding their constituents, yet Reed held four.

And through it all Tom Reed stood tall at town hall meetings and bravely "agreed to disagree" with those who thought his recklessness would drive them into bankruptcy or prevent them from getting the health care needed for their children. It takes true guts to take a feces fajita and try to palm it off as a filet mignon.

Tom Reed is constantly touting his pride in being a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus--a small bipartisan group of legislators who are willing to reach across the aisle to develop compromise legislation to be passed by Congress. While I applaud his effort to reach across the aisle to get things done, there are several things we must keep in mind when evaluating his role in this caucus.