they didn’t quit. per slink, jane terminated the jobs by email.

According to a Kos comment that I can’t link to anymore, nyceve and slinkerwink quit FDL’s employ after the Norquist letter.

I have the 25th off, may go up there myself and make it a Cell Phone Protest of one.

If those of us in DC get a voting member of Congress by next week, I guarantee you 500,000 people dancing in the streets.

I’m going to go the shitty route, and will say up front that I think that Eve, slinky and the rest of the fucking morons at FDL are trying to come up with a way to restore Jane the Ignorant Slut’s status by taking credit for the passage of something.

It’s Always About Jane, so yes.

Everyone should be calling every day.

I’ve typed in the text of the letter here.

“Dear (my name):

Thank you for contacting me about the health care reform legislation being debated in Congress. Like you, I want to find smart ways to reduce the ever-increasing cost of health care while making insurance easier and more accessible to all Americans.

Although I very much agree with the need to improve and reform our health care system, I do not believe the House bill was the right way to hold insurance companies accountable and bring change to our overly burdened health care system. I know you mnight be disappointed with my vote against the bill, but I hope you will take a moment to understand why I voted as I did.

First, I believe very strongly that our government must show much more fiscal accountability, and that is my responsibility as your Congressman to make sure we do not enact new spending programs which are not fully paid for and which worsen our already out of control federal budget deficit.

Second, I oppose the creation of a new, government-run health insurance system. Instead, I believe we should regulate existing private insurance carriers so that they no longer deny reasonably priced coverage to those with medical preconditions or charge exorbitant co-pays. Insurance reforms combined with allowing insurance companies to compete across state lines is a better way to reduce insurance costs and increase consumer choice.

Finally, I believe any reforms must reduce the cost of delivering high quality health care in our country. Yet this bill did little to do that, keeping in place a structure that allows doctors in states like Florida and New York to charge many times more for simple procedures than doctors in Idaho. According to a recent report by the non-partisan Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the recently passed health care bill would actually increase spendings by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years. Enacting a bill without meaningful cost controls would undermine the goals you and I share.

Although the bill I voted against passed the House, a new bill has been passed by the Senate. There are significant differences, and, in some cases, improvements. Rest assured that my final vote on the bill will continue to be based upon the three principles I outlined above, and my commitment to do what’s best for the First Congressional District of Idaho.

Please feel free to visit my website at http://minnick.house.gov for continued updates on my work, and do not hesitate to contact my office if I can be of assistance in the future. It is an honor to serve you in the U.S. Congress.”

Translation: I’m going to repeat Republican talking points that have long been debunked on the assumption that you’re an uneducated idiot who doesn’t have access to the Internet. I think you can probably count out Minnick’s vote for passing the Senate bill in the House.

My response to my Congressman will come at a microphone at the next party convention here in Idaho.

I still do not know how tort reform is going to help keep down health insurance costs.

it won’t. ‘tort reform’ is one of those red herrings wingers bring up. after you ask them for specifics of how much it would help, they disappear.

its similar to the winger idea that you can balance the budget by first cutting foodstamps. when you ask for numbers to back that up, they’re already gone.