Congressmen Intentionally Remain 'Low Information Voters' on Obamacare

On 9/10 Tea Party Patriots will descend on Washington to provide their federal representatives with something they apparently don’t have–a clue. That clue is that the citizens want Congress to exempt America from Obamacare, just like they’ve exempted big special interest groups.

Rush Limbaugh frequently talks about “Low Information Voters” (LIVs) on his program. He’s referencing the idea that a certain segment of the voting public lacks a well-defined ideology, pays little attention to current political events, holds minimal knowledge about the actual platforms of the candidates for whom they vote, and often votes for candidates based on things like attractiveness and likability rather than on philosophy toward governing. But there is another group that Rush should include under the definition of “Low Information Voters.” Sadly, that group is members of Congress.

It’s not just the fact that congressmen and senators rarely bother to read the massive, life-altering, and far-reaching bills that they flippantly vote into law–although that argument by itself is certainly enough to qualify them as LIVs. Unfortunately, our elected representatives are hopelessly low on the most important information that they should have before casting their votes. They have no clue how their constituents want them to vote. And for them, ignorance is bliss.

On September 10th, members of Congress will be back in DC for their first full day of business after finishing the annual August recess. Prior to 2009, the August recess was a time for members of Congress to return to their home districts, enjoy some down-time, and hold symbolic, sparsely-attended town hall meetings to create the appearance that they wanted to hear from the common folk. The birth of the Tea Party blew that tradition to smithereens.

August of 2009 was the longest, hottest, and most shockingly irritating August that many members of Congress have ever experienced. They showed up at their town hall meetings expecting the small crowds and fawning royal treatment to which they had grown accustomed. Instead they were faced with packed houses, often exceeding the capacity of the venue, filled with Tea Party Patriots who had the audacity to disagree with the irresponsible way that they were running the government. Faced with the unprecedented impudence of their subjects daring to make direct eye contact and speak their minds, the long-standing members of the ruling class were aghast and had only one obvious solution–stop holding town halls.

Consequently, the last four Augusts have seen only a smattering of public forums where federal elected officials actually show up to hear what their constituents think. There were a few this year, but they were mostly “stealth” town halls, meaning the dates, times, and locations were closely guarded secrets because they didn’t want too many real people to show up. Therefore, Tea Party Patriots kept a fully-staffed August Command Center tasked with uncovering and publicizing the small number of town hall meetings whenever and wherever they popped up.

Tea Party Patriots were trying to provide to their reclusive representatives with valuable knowledge at these meetings, but only a handful received the message. It seems most are happier not knowing.

The Exempt America rally being held in DC on 9/10 is intended to welcome Congressmen back from their August hideouts and inform them that their constituents want to be exempted from the train-wreck of Obamacare in the same way that big special interest groups have been granted exemptions.

Obamacare is a giant, bureaucratic mess that is riddled with flaws and will come nowhere close to delivering the utopian promises that were used to sell it. It hasn’t even begun yet, but it has already caused soaring insurance rates, masses being dropped from their coverage, widespread cutbacks from full-time to part-time, economic uncertainty which has stagnated growth, and a long list of other problems. If it’s allowed to take full effect, the consequences will be degraded quality of care, the eradication of free-market choices, worsening unemployment, worsening poverty, and shared misery for all Americans. Obamacare is not the solution. Americans do not want Obamacare.

Congress, on 9/10 listen to the thousands of constituents who will visit you in DC for the Exempt America rally. When you do, you will finally understand that you must act now and do everything in your power to exempt America from Obamacare.