FYI: I live in the 2nd Congressional District of Missouri, a very conservative district that gave us such luminaries as former Representative Todd “Legitimate Rape” Atkins. Ann Wagner is of the same ilk.
I am not quite sure how my phone number ended up in Rep. Ann Wagner’s texting file, but it did. A text from Wagner popped up the other day, and when I saw who it was my feeling was very similar to one I had when a gal I dated one time would not stop calling me and texting me. Obviously, I can block their number, see if their “STOP” option really works, just automatically delete them, but I would rather get a restraining order. I am doing pretty good though, generally when I see Ann Wagner’s name I go on an obscenity filled rant that has folks running for the hills. So far I have refrained.
Wagner’s text had a link to a survey requesting constituents’ opinions. “Well,” I thought, “she wants my opinion, I’ll be glad to give her a piece of my mind!” I opened the link, and by the fourth question I was ready to throw my phone against the first hard object I encountered, not counting my head.
I truly found her survey offensive. The first few questions were waving red flags to energize her ultra-conservative base in the 2nd district, and she was thumbing her nose at those of us not of that opinion. In all probability this survey is not original with Wagner – not sure she is capable of original thought – but was a directive to party hacks from the GOP bosses.
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Question 1: Do you support government-imposed vaccination mandates? Yes/No
There are several ways to ask this question without using a loaded word like impose. Until recently I would have said mandated, but this is another word that has become politicized. In fact we already have many government mandated vaccinations, and they have been huge public health successes. A few years back, you could have asked my aunt who limped her whole life from polio, and she was one of the lucky ones.
Question 2: Do you believe China should be held accountable for its corrupt and reckless role in the COVID-19 pandemic? Yes/No
Loaded words are apparently the order of the day, so why not use corrupt and reckless to characterize an unsubstantiated statement. The whole laying the blame on China originated with the Trump administration trying to focus attention away from their inept handling of the COVID crisis.
Question 3: Do you think the rising prices of everything you buy, due to inflation, has made your life more difficult?Yes/No
This question is in same category as “have you stopped beating your wife”, i.e. a loaded question. I founded it poorly worded, but its real purpose is to help create a GOP cudgel. The reasons for the current inflation are probably more complex than I realize, but much of it stems from pandemic related issues. However, the GOP is positioning itself to use inflation as a political weapon against Biden and the Democrats. Wagner is just watering that garden.
Question 4: Do you believe medical care should be mandated for babies who are born alive following a failed abortion? Yes/No
This is the question that had me wanting to throw my phone against a wall. There are many things exceedingly wrong with it. The GOP is constantly trotting out abortion horror stories, frequently with little regard to truth, this is just another one. What exactly do they mean by failed abortion? The woman had an abortion, but had a child anyway? However, without a good definition I cannot research statistics on it. For abortions performed in qualified centers, the risks and complications are very low, as are “failed abortions”. Here is some information from Planned Parenthood: How safe is an in-clinic abortion?
Next I cannot imagine that any child born in a health care situation would be denied medical care. Her question is simply absurd, another example of waving the red flag to energize her base.
And if the GOP is so concerned about health care of babies from a “failed abortion”, why are they not concerned about the health care of all children. I can think of few things more important than ensuring that all our children have a good start in life, medically, physically, educationally, etc. But that would be socialism!
Question 5: Do you believe Paid Family Leave is helpful for new parents in the workforce? Yes/No
Question 6: Do you believe Congress should act to protect patients with pre-existing conditions?Yes/No
Question 7: Do you support a government-run Medicare-for-All program for healthcare? Yes/No
I am lumping these 3 questions together. Even before the Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes he would have thought these 3 good ideas. However, many in the GOP again see them as creeping socialism, making me wonder why she had them on her survey. And there is another red flag with “government-run health care”. I believe certain things should not be about profit, health care is one of those. Between the government running a health care system and businesses seeking to make profits from it, I will take the government every time. If you want to trot out horror stories, what about people with pre-existing conditions not being able to get health insurance? I would think Paid Family Leave would be a no-brainer for the party of “family values”. According to the Washington Post in 2016 Wagner voted against Paid Family Leave 7 times.
Question 8: Who do you think should run elections, states or the federal government? Yes/No
Okay, again why is this question even here? Is this something that is being seriously debated? The GOP is busily trying to disenfranchise large segments of the population by screaming voter fraud when the actually amount of fraud is infinitesimally small. They are busily loading the dice in their favor through gerrymandering since they tend to control state legislatures. This question was a total head scratcher.
Wagner does do one thing positive. I am not generally a donor to political causes, parties or candidates, but every election cycle since I have moved to the 2nd district I have given money to her opponents. She is the antithesis of much of what I hold dear in life. I could almost, almost tolerate her if she was her own person, but she just echos the GOP party line unfiltered. I am not alone in saying that the GOP is doing its damnedest to push democracy under the rug. Maintaining power is more important to the GOP than the future of this country or the welfare of its citizens. Wagner is simply abetting the demise of democracy in this nation.
And so it should not go.
Just a little lagniappe. I forwarded her text to my home computer and when I tried to go to the survey website my Trend Micro security software would not let me go there. The following dire warnings had popped up:
In reality someone on the Congressional IT staff has not gotten all the certificates needed for the website/webpage. I had a similar problem with my blog as I had not done my due diligence with the Russian search engine, Yandex, which is very popular world wide. But it was still funny.
You gotta give it to ‘em. They know how to talk down to their base.