Lenzi Statement On Coronavirus, Healthcare And Debates

Apr 6, 2020 3:08 PM Apr 6, 2020 3:09 PM

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Statement issued by Ray Lenzi:

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As our great President Abraham Lincoln said in the midst of the Civil War: “We cannot escape history . . . we will be remembered in spite of ourselves.” The corona virus crisis is testing American society as Lincoln’s America was tested in the great crisis over slavery.

As history turns again, the failed response of the Trump administration is front and center and here in the 12th district we ask: Where is our congressman? What does he have to say about the handling of the crisis and the issues it raises?

Yesterday, the Trump administration announced that it had shipped hundreds of thousands of protective masks to the hospitals in the greater New York City area; it turns out they had been shipped to a PRIVATE warehouse where private companies would put the personal protective equipment (PPE) up for sale to the highest bidder!

This is not the way things are supposed to work in America during a declared National Emergency when the Defense Production Act has been invoked. Though belatedly, both of these national emergency measures have been activated by the President.

So now we must ask Congressman Bost:

Does he think the President, given that it is a declared National Emergency, should call for a national mobilization of resources and the people including a national lockdown of all states?
Does Congressman Bost think the President should not only invoke the Defense Production Act but also activate it by taking control of all essential healthcare related supplies including test kits, swabs, masks, N-95 face protectors, PPE supplies, ventilators, other vital materials and coordinating their direction to the neediest areas?
What do you have to say Mr. Congressman regarding the worst national corona response on the planet? Do you feel we have done a good job in general? How would you grade the Trump administration’s response to date?
More specifically, how do you grade the administration’s response on testing and tracking? Why is South Korea 500 times better at this than we are?
How do you grade the Trump administration’s decision to disband the Pandemic Task Force? Yes or no, was that a good decision? Please Mr. Congressman, please answer. Are you honest and brave enough to even do your duty in oversight and question or challenge the President?
Next, do you stand by your 33 votes to kill the Affordable Care Act and end health insurance for 30 million nationally, including 50,000 in your own district? Do you still support the elimination in your district of 3500 well-paying healthcare jobs and a $ 300 million dollar payroll?

Please Congressman Bost, speak to “We the People” and defend your decision.

Let’s be clear: The “We the People, We the Majority” movement gives this administration an F in overall performance to date. Eliminating the Pandemic Task Force was a very bad decision. History judges very bad decisions.

Our great country, the richest on earth, failed the test of history when it came. The Trump administration failed on preparation and planning because of an administration that has no appreciation for competence and expertise and thinks that government is only about entertainment and “winging it” with little regard for intelligence, facts and the truth.

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This is an administration whose major accomplishment was a tax cut mainly for the super-rich; an administration who only had their eye on one ball—the stock market. How did that work out?

In the whole world, our great country is universally recognized not for our great people, our great healthcare professionals and our great reservoir of brilliant scientists but instead for its poorest performance in testing, poorest performance in tracking, poorest performance in PPE inventory and poorest performance in national coordination—an F in every subject!

And what is at the root of all these misguided mistakes? At one level we can put it at the feet of a self-centered dishonest President who disdains science, the facts and the truth and who cares not at all for the history and mechanics of national government and the hard and disciplined work of assembling, motivating and coordinating the gears and machinery of a top performing engine of experienced and talented cabinet members and government officials. This is the specific case of the failure of leadership and administration of the Trump presidency.

But, perhaps more importantly, what is at the root of this gross incompetence that has earned this administration a universal F in this hour of judgement that will live in infamy?

The We the People movement, the We the People campaign says it is bad values and a fatal focus on the wrong indicators.

We Democrats and progressives say it is too much value on our politicians serving the interests of the super-rich, the wealthy donors and dark and dirty money instead of serving the needs of working people and families. We say it is an absence of focus on and love for the simple value of the Common Good!

From Franklin Delano Roosevelt to JFK and President Obama our party has stood for and served the interests of working families, the people who raise, deliver, cook and serve our food; raise and teach our infants and children, drive our trucks, make our steel, manufacture our cars, machinery and products, bring us electricity and heat and care for our elderly, the sick and infirm. These are our people and we are proud of it. We stand with you!

We especially stand with the healthcare workers risking their lives on the frontlines during the corona virus crisis! We stand with all these hard-working people and we stand for standing together! We stand for a vigorous discussion of these and other issues with Congressman Bost. Where is our our congressman?

Please answer our previous six interrogatories and two additional questions:

Will you agree to a series of twelve (12) televised debates (note: can be done remotely consistent with social distancing and modern technology). This would be one in each of the twelve counties of the 12th district.
Finally, in light of the obscene sums of dark and dirty money flooding into our corrupted electoral democracy, will you agree to a firm cap on spending in our campaigns to a maximum of a half-million dollars each. We ran a successful primary campaign on about $ 60,000. We challenge you to a half-million dollar cap.

How about it Mr. Congressman Bost? Let’s hear from you. We the People are waiting. What say you? Where is our Congressman. Please respond to our questions. We say speak up. History is awaiting your answer.

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