TONE DEAFICIT: A Letter to Bill Posey

Dear Representative Posey (R-FL),

You and your Tea Party colleagues seem to suffer from one fatal flaw: A callous disregard for one of our founding documents that clearly state:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed …”

How does your no compromise, hostage-taking approach to governance square with these words?    Like a bad marriage to an abusive spouse who violates personal boundaries, you and your Tea Party Republicans fail to distinguish between YOURS, MINE, and OURS.  The United States is not just YOUR country; it is also MY country. It spends not just YOUR tax money; it spends MY tax dollars too. A public debate without compromise and consensus is not my idea of “consent of the governed.” The key word in this debate should be ‘OURS,’ not ‘yours.’

I paid into the Medicare and Social Security system my entire life.  It is MY money, not yours. Contrary to what you think, Medicare and Social Security are not "entitlements." These are EARNED BENEFITS that my forbearers struggled for - and died for!

I resent paying higher marginal tax rates than your billionaire benefactors who refuse to shoulder their fair share of the cost of civilization ... thus creating a tax and economic inequality at MY expense.

I resent the credit worthiness of MY country being held hostage by a fringe group that has shown more anger management pathology than common decency or common sense. When you took your oath of office, you promised to uphold the U.S. Constitution, which clearly states:

"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."

Yet, you think Grover Norquist’s No Tax Pledge holds more legal authority than your oath of office.  You can't have it both ways:  Fealty to Grover Norquist OR your legal obligations pursuant to the U.S. Constitution. **

I resent the atmosphere of character assassination, bullying, and fear exploited by you and your Tea Party colleagues who defame and vilify any good citizen with whom you disagree.

No, Mr. Posey, you have disrespected us, verbally abused us, and now threaten to steal from us.  You no longer deserve the consent of the governed.  Most of all, you have defiled our democracy.  At election time, I want a DIVORCE!

** Note:  Mr. Posey is a signer of Grover Norquist's No Tax Pledge.