John Boehner Didn’t Cry for Us, He Locked Us Out of His Office
A Capitol Police Officer oversees us deliver 2,100 letters to Rep. John Boehner asking him not to cut Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security.
Thanks to all of our supporters, over 2,100 people signed our petition asking Speaker of the House John Boehner not to cut or privatize Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security.
Many of you shared your personal stories with the Speaker in the hopes that he will take those who are uninsured, underinsured, and/or living in poverty into consideration before he calls for cuts to our social insurance programs.
As promised, on June 7th we–a handful of members of Healthcare-NOW!, Progressive Democrats of America, Physicians for a National Health Program, and the Grey Panthers–delivered a stack of all 2,100 signatures and letters to John Boehner’s office. We asked to meet with the Speaker, but he was unavailable. Then we asked to meet with his health legislative aide, but he/she wasn’t available either.
So we asked to read your letters aloud in his office until the Speaker was available to meet with us. Before we finished reading the first letter, the Capitol Police arrived and asked us to leave. We handed the stack of letters for John Boehner to his receptionist and then were immediately escorted from the office. The police locked the door behind us as we left.
Determined to have our stories heard, we continued reading your letters in the hallway in front of John Boehner’s office. We posted photos from our visit to John Boehner’s office here. And Alison McLeod, RN, BSN created a great video of the visit below.
Here’s Alison’s account of the visit:
“In D.C., I had the honor of participating in (and videotaping) an action at Speaker of the House John Boehner’s office. Katie Robbins of Healthcare-Now collected hundreds of testimonials from people who have suffered under the present profit –driven system – and will suffer more if Medicare and Medicaid are further defunded and privatized. These stories made us cry, and since John Boehner has a tendency for weepiness, we each came armed with a box of Kleenex. Boehner wasn’t there, and his aide called the security guards, so we had to read the testimonials in the hall. But we left behind the stories – and the Kleenex.”
Alison McLeod, RN, BSN Southern Arizona Field Organizer Progressive Democrats of America
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