While all of us 47 percenters were apparently spending all of our time living la vida loca on welfare and food stamps, one very articulate and concerned 12 year-old boy was composing a very thoughtful and poignant letter to Romney regarding his Olympian evasions on healthcare. Unlike those nauseatingly cutesy lemonade stand brats, who were exploitingly shoved onto Fox News a few months ago (most by their Tea Party Parents) in order to wax philosophical on all of their apparent keen knowledge of economic systems, this young boy spoke with great depth and care regarding his sister and pre-existing conditions.
After evidently watching political coverage of Romney flip-flop on the pre-existing conditions provision on Obamacare, Justin Ripley decided that it was time to write Romney a letter. Obviously with some assistance from his mother, the thoughtful boy called out Romney on his vacillating health care stances, particularly with regards to pre-existing conditions:
Dear Governor Romney, I’d like to say congratulations on winning the republican nomination. But, I wish you stayed in Massachusetts. You’re plan for America isn’t what we need, and would hurt us more than it would help [sic]. (Huffington Post)
Twelve years old, and this kid is already more useful than the entire Congress and has better grammar skills than Sarah Palin.
Jackson’s strident beliefs appear to have stemmed from his witnessing his little sister, Kennedy, suffer with pre-existing conditions since she was just four weeks old. It seems after Kennedy was born, she developed a hemangioma – an abnormal, raised tumor of blood vessels — on her face. According to her mother, Lindsay Ripley, “only 10 percent of children are born with a hemangioma and less than one percent of the cases are life-threatening, like Kennedy’s.” (Huffington Post) So vast was the tumor that at a nine month old baby was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
“She was very ill and in and out of the hospital for the first two years of her life. During which she had several procedures, surgeries, MRI’s, CT’s and hospitalized many, many times, making her our million dollar baby when she was around a year old,” Lindsay Ripley told The Huffington Post. (Huffington Post)
After the economic abortion of 2009, Linda’s husband was briefly left without a job and his family lost his health insurance like so many others. Perhaps baby Kennedy should have pulled herself up by the booties straps?
“Next to my daughter’s name in big black bold letters was the word DENIED. The reason: Dollar amount previously spent, number of hospitalizations within five years and the pre-existing condition, congestive heart failure. I knew they were going to deny Kennedy, but I wasn’t prepared for how angry and sick it would make me feel,” Lindsay Ripley said.
“Like the insurance companies were saying my daughter was trash, she didn’t matter, wasn’t worth the same the health care and coverage the rest of us enjoy. Our only option was to purchase Kennedy an expensive policy through an insurance company exclusively for people with pre-existing conditions. Although they accepted Kennedy and took our money each month, they refused to cover her pre-existing condition, or anything caused by it, which was almost everything.” (Huffington Post)
Read Jackson’s full letter to Gov. Romney below, courtesy of Huff Po (spelling/grammar is unchanged from original letter):
Dear Governor Romney,I’d like to say congratulations on winning the republican nomination. But, I wish you stayed in Massachusetts. You’re plan for America isn’t what we need, and would hurt us more than it would help.
First, repealing Obama care and other health plans he’s put in place have helped families across America, including mine. I live in a middle class family, and two years ago my little sister; Kennedy was denied insurance because of her pre-existing condition. This was a huge emotional stress and financial burden on my entire family. Under Obama Care, insurance companies can no longer deny Kennedy and kids like her, the coverage they need and deserve. Because of Obama care my little sister was able to have the several surgeries she needed that helped save her life. Once the President was elected he put Obama Care into action, just like he promised and made it so that you could get insurance with pre-existing conditions. This has made a direct impact on my family. My family is with out a doubt better off now, than we were four years ago!
It is to my understanding that you stated that you were going to repeal Obama Care, including the part I have mentioned, which will take away the insurance we have and need for my sister Kennedy. Why do you think she doesn’t deserve health care? Also, when you were interviewed on “Meet the Press”, you stated that you would NOT repeal this part of Obama Care, but then your campaign backpedalled and on the “Tonight show with Jay Leno”, you said that you WOULD repeal this.
Also, you’re domestic plans (birth control, gay rights etc.) are horrible! Women should get to manage their own health, and if you wonder why you’re not appealing to many women voters, rethink your birth control and women’s’ rights plans. And people should be able to marry whom they want. We built this country so people could have freedom, and not have religious beliefs control them to that length. This country was in no way built on any religion, so we should not create laws that repress the American people in a religious way and hurt our most vulnerable.
Sincerely,
Jackson Ripley, age 12 [sic on all]
Michael is a comedian/VO artist/Columnist extraordinaire, who co-wrote an award-nominated comedy, produces a chapter of Laughing Liberally, wrote for NY Times Laugh Lines, guest-blogged for Joe Biden, and writes a column for MSNBC.com affiliated Cagle Media. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and like NJ Laughing Liberally Lab if you love political humor from a progressive point-of-view. Seriously, follow him or he’ll send you a photo of Rush Limbaugh bending over in a thong.
