Asking a question of your congressman and getting a straight answer should be a simple endeavor. Tom Perriello has evaded a definitive answer to my question concerning the healthcare bill 4 times. As a mom, a business women, a caregiver to a disabled veteran, and a constituent of the 5th District of VA, I oppose the Healthcare Bill.
Did the 5th District want Perriello to vote yes on the healthcare bill? What do you think? I believe the 5th wanted a vote of “NO”. At this point in the campaign, I also believe Perriello realizes this as true since he is not campaigning on his “YES” vote.
Over the months leading up to the vote on healthcare, Perriello and I discussed and debated the components of the bill. A continuing assertion from my standpoint was the will of the 5th District as he was elected to represent us.
In October of 2009, my neighbors and I boarded the train to D.C. to protest the healthcare bill and meet with Perriello. After presenting our positions and reasoning concerning specific components of the bill, I asked him what the 5th District wanted. Perriello said the District was divided evenly and nicely into 3 positions, yes, no, and undecided. Was there ever a time the District was divided in that manner over this bill?
On August 16, 2010 Perriello held a town hall meeting in Chatham and the question was asked, “Are the majority, meaning in excess of 50%, of the constituents of the 5th district of Virginia pleased with your yes vote on the Health Care Bill.” As a follow up question, “What poll or source of data was used as a basis for your answer?” Perriello evaded the answer by breaking the bill into issues the bill was trying to fix. We can all agree in high percentages there are healthcare problems that need correcting. The point of contention is a monster bill over two thousand pages long that winds its way into our lives and wallets like kudzu.
The answer to the follow up question was, “It depends on when you ask the question.” On August 16th, I wanted an answer and asked the question.
A couple days after the town hall meeting, I received a call from Perriello’s office with the message that Perriello was disappointed in me and wanted to know what he had done to offend me. Well the answer is very straight forward staring Perriello in the face. Tom, you voted yes on the Healthcare Bill.
Lynn Tucker
Penhook, VA
I think this article fundamentally misunderstands American representative democracy. We elected Perriello in 2008 as our representative, where he told us what his party was, his beliefs were, etc. Now, and every two years, we have a chance to get new representation if we want. Based on Ms. Tucker’s theory though, the point of representation is to simply poll the district and find out what 50.01% of the population thinks and then vote that way. That would be true in a quasi-direct or direct-representative government. But the truth is that what we do is elect people based on their values, beliefs, ideas etc and if we decide we don’t like those values, beliefs, etc, then in 2 short years, we get to hire someone else. President Bush proudly told us that he did not govern based on polls. And he was right. You govern based on what you said you would do and what you believe is best for your constituents. If you’re out of touch or bad at your job, you get booted.
well, Perriello lied about several aspects of the Obamacare bill & his (2) votes for it. He said he would never ever vote for any healthcare bill that allowed fed funding of abortions. I think he thought the Stupak push to force Obama to sign EO prohibiting fed funding of abortion thru this bill would satisfy his dumb, country, uneducated, Bible thumping constituents. Yet fed funding of abortions continues–certainly in Pennsylvania & in several other states.
For those who believe that Perriello’s CAtholicism makes his pro-life, they are sadly mistaken.
Hurt should have a tv ad about the fact that unemployment has went up in the 5th district since Perriello took office even after he voted for the jobless stimulus package.