[To Michael Morrill, in response to a Move-On.org email asking people to sign a petition calling on Congress to give up their "federally subsidized health care."]
Dear Sir:
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DO NOT GET FREE HEALTH CARE. They are entitled to *purchase* the same healthcare that all federal employees get. Check Politifact.com (http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/aug/30/steve-southerland/southerland-says-his-health-insurance-no-different/) if you don't believe me.
I am a progressive. But you do not get a pass from me for spreading misinformation, unwittingly or not, simply because I believe in the same general political principles you do.
Every time you are shoddy with the facts, you damage our cause, because you damage our credibility. There are so many things to scream at Congress for (from being captive to special interests to completely callous and uncaring for the plight of many average Americans), don't waste time -- mine, yours, and ours as a movement and a nation -- on statements that are easily disprovable. The truth is our best weapon against the status quo.
A fellow progressive,
Pat Greene
PS: In case you are interested, I wrote a blog post on just this issue: http://madameverdi.blogspot.com/2011/09/fact-of-matter.html
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