DENVER -- So, President Bush vetoes the State Children's Health Insurance Program expansion and Congress fails to override that veto. So this is our government? No, it is not. It may be the insurance companies' government and the health care profiteers' government, but it sure as hell isn't mine.

This government tries to protect life in the womb but devalues that life once a child is born and fails to provide basic health care for working-class children. That's not my government.

This government doesn't value my work ethic or my determination to provide for myself. Since I am among those classified as the "working poor," I can fend for myself for health care coverage. That's not my government.

This government does an awful lot of finger-pointing about who's to blame for what but never watches out for my health care needs. It's a weak Congress. It's a bumbling administration or worse - it's a selfish one. That's not my government.

This government wants working parents not to have enough money to buy homes or new cars or other consumer goods because they must pay huge premiums for sub-standard health care and coverage. That's not my government.

This government is full of those claiming patriotism and love of family while ignoring families sinking into economic ruin due to health costs and coverage. That's not my government.

This government is full of those proclaiming love for humankind while failing to protect even the youngest and most vulnerable in our own society. That's not my government.

This government is full of Bible-thumping Christians who display judgmental and cruel tendencies very opposite what the Christ I learned about would ask of us. That's not my government.

This government will not change and will not represent its people because it is built on arrogance of self rather than being of and by the people. And that's not my government.

This vote today has made me more angry and more determined than ever. This is not just about the kids, fellow Americans. It is about what we collectively need to say to these people we elected. And if they cannot and will not hear us - as they demonstrated today - then we must clean house. Top to bottom, Repubs and Dems, out the door, to the curb and back to the people.

I have had enough. I have been ignored enough. My vote and my taxes have been abused enough. My voice matters. I am an American woman with a brain and a heart and a God. And I want my country back.

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Donna Smith, American SiCKO



About author Donna Smith is a community organizer for the Donna Smith is a community organizer for the California Nurses Association and National Co-Chair for the Progressive Democrats of America Healthcare Not Warfare campaign