John Barrow’s Mailbox Is Full: One Blue Dog’s Tale
I’ve been trying to call my Georgia Blue Dog representative, John Barrow, all morning. Busy. Busy. Busy. When, finally, I got through his voice mail apologized that there was no one there to take my call, 
but invited me to leave a message. When I got the beep, the invite was rescinded. His voice mailbox is full.
I called back. Again.
This time I got an answer. I told the man who answered that the voice mail was full. He said that he was not surprised. I said that I was calling to argue that Barrow should sign on to the health care bill. He said he’d be happy to pass that along, and asked where was I calling from.
Milledgeville.
He asked is there anything else he could do for me today. I said he should take down my name. He could have asked to know my name. He could have wondered on what basis I am supporting the bill. You might even think Barrow might have extra staff around since, as the man said, it’s not surprising that there would be calls today.
So I called the local number. The first time I got hung up on. The second time no answer. The third time, “The mailbox for [Barrow voice] Congressman John Barrow [/Barrow voice] is full. Please try again later.”
A wholly unsatisfying experience.
John Barrow will vote no.* “We can do better” my arse! John Barrow has no interest in what a local constituent might want. He has no interest, even, in recording the yeas and nays. His eyes are on a bigger prize:
The talk in Georgia is that John wants to run for the Senate in 2014 and that he thinks a NO vote on HCR will be smart positioning for that race. He seems to be making the bet that a NO vote on HCR will be forgotten by then. Hell, he seems to be making a bet that Democrats will forget his betrayal by the fall and support him with DCCC money, fundraisers, grass roots support and ground troops for his re-election. He seems to feel that even if he votes to kills HCR that Democrats will still rally to support him in November and that they will support him again in 2012 and then get behind him when he runs for the Senate in 2014.
I’ve sat with John Barrow in the local coffee shop. My partner was raised as his neighbor. I defended him when he was gerrymandered out of his lifelong home, and when Democrats targeted him (along with neighboring Blue Dog Jim Marshall). I remember, too, that Obama cut an ad for his campaign:
OBAMA: He’s already standing up to the lobbyists and the Republicans who go right down the line with George Bush. Now we need him in Congress to help reduce gasoline prices, provide access to affordable health care for every American. … John’s not afraid to take a tough stand to do what’s right.
Not afraid? He won’t even record constituent calls! And that ad is no longer on youtube. Shocker, that.
I’m telling you, here, now, today, that if John Barrow votes no I will vote for the Republican next time, come what may. Hear me clearly, that’s a promise. I already live in the red, red rump of the most reactionary element of the Republican party. They are on the wrong side of history. And John Barrow is right there with them.
* Bishop, the other Georgia fence-sitter, will vote yes.
12 Responses to “John Barrow’s Mailbox Is Full: One Blue Dog’s Tale”
Is.
Is that supposed to be the official, “good” photo?
Because.
Because he looks like his bedroom's wallpaper is made out of puppy eyelids.
Ah yes, more democracy in action. Who are politicians accountable to? Constituents are only important at election time. So don't vote for the slimeball, but don't vote republican either. Out of the frying pan and into the fire isn't a solution. I say that with full appreciation for your disgust.
I guess, like any pol, I can go back on my word at any time.
AKE, the photo is from here.
I would be surprised if Barrow doesn't have a primary challenger, however nominal.
You should have threatened him with a tea party vote. His people wouldn't know what to think of it.
It could be worse. I am in John “Fair Tax” Linder's district. . I have recently sent him emails critical of his and his party's position on health care reform. I have contributed to him in the past and for that reason I generally get a response from his staff, usually a cut and paste job. They answered me that they thanked me for my support in the past and with my help they will be able to defeat health care reform! They don't seem to even have a form letter for answering people who oppose their position. Either that or they don't read their mail very closely.
Oh well Linder is retiring. It looks like Ralph “Squeeze the Indians” Reed will run and win in this 60% Republican district.
What are we doing here? St. Mary's just beat Villanova! NCAA tournament the best sports event of the year and this tournament has had the best opening round games of any I have seen. Go Georgia Tech!
Norman Goldman (sp?) has a lefty show and I believe it was he I was listening to, who tried calling a Congresscritter and got an overloaded voice mail box, too. This is routine right now. The “pro” side is probably stronger than the “anti” side on this currently, if anything. There's a lot of “silent majority” of the population on both sides of this measure who want to be heard about this. (As I wrote elsewhere, there is strong support for intervention by the federal government by as much as 20-25 per cent of the popuation. That's the strong support. The rest of the support is from some who now are also speaking out, as well as those whose opposition was light rather than heavy.)
http://www.rollcall.com/news/44382-1.html?moste…
These business-as-usual Congress members are surprised by the public response, both pro and con, to this vote, aren't they? The “pro” side is the biggest and noisiest right now. They realize, if not before then now, when it's yes or no, that anything is better than nothing and that this is incrementalism that sets a precedent for federal intervention. If Kucinich can hold his nose and vote aye for general “progress,” why not the the other Dems, is the thought. And don't forget the groupthink and herd stampede that is going on right now; even the big special interests are piling on in favor of this.
Joe W. I don't know if your case will necessarily involve eventual replacement of a Blue Dog with someone more true blue, but I believe that's possible this year, not necessarily limited to the obvious case of Lincoln in Arkansas.
Meanwhile, we've heard from your governor. Will others join him about this? (Or rely on federal aid later?)
[Yes, I know -- he looks like a peach as well as a typical Southern Republican]
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?st…
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-gall…
I not only see a bigger rise of the Left recently than others do, I don't see this November as 1994. We'll have to wait to see if I'm right or wrong about those things.
Joe W., I wrote about this on another thread, but if it makes you feel better here: That 20-25% farther left part of the population can't be disregarded and while it's risky to expect too much from the rise of the Left in recent years, and agitation over the Dems' strategy in Washington (accomodationist versus truly “progressive”). which is general, not specific to health care reform, I have to repeat that it would be remarkable to see a “progressive” coup at the leadership of the Democratic Party (DLC-DNC), not just the fall of a few moderate Dems to “progressives” in elections soon. Few people or nobody like the status quo.
(Like Promise Keepers and Southern and other Republican Reactionaries — “Storm the Gates”)
http://www.democrats.org/
http://www.dlc.org/
I don't get the drama over this. Right now I would bet every blue dog is overwhelmed with calls and even if they had brought in extra people I doubt their phone systems could handle the load no matter how much extra help they had. That most of those calls are most likely from out of district is just the icing. The funny thing is the bitching about him not listening to constituents but you basically don't really want him to listen to all of them just the ones, the minority, that think like you do. From your own source;
“Recent polls indicate the bill, especially if it – as seems likely – allows federal funding for abortions, is unpopular in Barrow's 12th Congressional District.”
So what pisses you off more, that he is being bombarded with calls from all over the nation limiting your access to complain, or that he is doing what the voters elected him to do?
We who want the bill to pass are as always, the silent majority. We all have relatives and friends who
have no health care insurance because (1) they are out of jobs; (2) they have pre-existing conditions)
(3) they cannot afford insurance because it's a choice between their home or insurance payments, their
car payments to get to work or their insurance payments, food or their insurance payments. We are
not the loud kind. We don't go by sound bites that are not correct. We listen when the bi-partisan
Congressional Budget Office says on Thursday that the health care reform will actually lessen the
deficit. We find it embarrassing and unacceptable that a nation as wealthy as ours (despite our recent
recession ) would let a diabetic die because he has a pre-exsting condition and cannot get insurance, a heart attack patient owe $150,000 to the hospital and doctor because he cannot affrord insurance so he has to has his house foreclosed; a person with multiple myoloma die because he cannot afford to get
a bone marrow transplant. This is happening every hour across the U.S. I quietly say, I am lucky to
have insurance, but I feel deeply that every one of these people deserve to get the treatment they need.
There are many misconceptions out there. Look very carefully at the actual facts and you will support this bill. If you are a kind and patriotic American with strong family values, and you are Christian and
believe what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, you will support this bill.
bill
a bone marrow transplant
government
John Barrow's district was one of the few in Georgia that Obama actually won! So the majority of Barrow's constituents support Obama's Health Care Plan. Barrow has no excuse for voting no on Health Care!
“Barrow has no excuse for voting no on Health Care!”
Again the article referenced by the original poster clearly states that the bill is not popular in his district. Go blow smoke elsewhere.