MoveOn delivering a check to DeLay in Webster, TX, RE: Medicare

[babylonsister]

In Webster? Odd that...

Dear MoveOn member,

Since our launch yesterday morning, over a hundred thousand people have joined our campaign to cancel the May 15th "senior tax" and fix the Medicare drug program. It's a great start, but with only 6 days to go and millions of seniors still facing steep lifetime penalties, we've got to turn up the volume.

So this Thursday May 11th, MoveOn volunteers in Webster, TX will be delivering a giant check to Rep. DeLay, representing the $315,949 he has taken from drug companies. We'll call on him to reject their corrupt influence and stand instead with Texas's seniors.

This events, happening in key districts accross the country, will expose the direct connection between big drug company money and Congress's refusal to defend seniors—but we need your help. You can come to speak about your personal experience with the new drug program, or just to show your support.

You can find and RSVP for a local event here:

http://political.moveon.org/event/medicare/?id=7553-4911090-ET4CAn1CLo8gM2PQb4g3bA&t=3

The Medicare drug plan was warped by corruption from the very beginning.

Former Rep. Billy Tauzin, the primary author of the drug plan, took over $218,000 in campaign contributions from the big drug companies.1 And as he wrote the bill in 2003, Tauzin was already preparing for his new job—as the best paid pharmaceutical lobbyist in the country.2

Then there's Thomas Scully—Bush's pick to run Medicare and the other chief architect of the new drug plan. The Bush administration gave Scully a special "ethics waiver," allowing him to negotiate for a new job as a drug company lobbyist while still writing the new law.3

But the story of corruption and the Medicare drug program did not end there. Today, Rep. DeLay, after taking $315,949 from big drug companies, refuses to fix program. Instead he supports bullying millions of seniors into joining the flawed plan by threatening permanent late fees, starting on May 15th.

Our best chance to cancel this deadline and protect America's seniors is to expose the pattern of corruption now, while the media is paying attention, in as many local districts as we can.

This campaign is about fixing Medicare, but it's also about breaking the cycle of corruption. We're sending a clear message to our representatives: if you put corruption above the lives of your constituents, you will be exposed, and you will be defeated in November .

We hope you can join us on Thursday.

http://political.moveon.org/event/medicare/?id=7553-4911090-ET4CAn1CLo8gM2PQb4g3bA&t=4

Thanks for all that you do,

–Ben, Natalie, Matt, Tom and the whole MoveOn.org Political Action team
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006