Reader: Melancon, Landrieu ‘think like piranha’ with health care votes

Dear Editor:

Unsurprisingly, Rep. Charlie Melancon is castigating Sen. David Vitter for not supporting an amendment in the Senate Health Care Bill that Sen. Mary Landrieu prostituted herself to have put into it. Go figure!

Landrieu proudly brags of her $300 million pay-off – for the benefit of Louisiana, of course – for her vote of a bill that will fundamentally transform our nation.

Melancon and Landrieu think like piranha. They see people held captive in poverty by the chains of welfare, and they do their best to see their victims stay there. If America’s poor were to wake up from the stupor that befuddles them, they would see that the very programs and promises made by the government will never satisfy.

The concept of private property, and individuals reaping the fruit of their labor, is fundamental to any free society. In fact, the 8th Commandment clearly states: “Do not steal.” There is no qualification or exception to it – not even vote by majority. Theft by any other name is still theft, and that is what Vitter opposes.

Landrieu and Melancon do not understand that government’s job is not to provide equal things, but equal opportunity. Legalized theft, i.e. taxes, is Karl Marx’s central method of leveling the masses. In the name of “caring for the hurting,” the Statist takes from the producers and gives to the moochers.

People who produce will stop producing if they are not able to keep the money they earned. Look at the late USSR. In 1917, the Communists made promises of bread, land and peace – a utopia that only government could provide! However, in a few short years, after the “cleansing” of the country, massive famine consumed the nation. Hardship and shortages were the norm as Marxism collapsed the economy of the unfortunate Russian people.

Vitter is standing up for Louisianans, and, in so doing, for the nation. We do not need more back-room deals in Washington. We need statesmen who uphold the constitution. Melancon’s words reveal his bribability, whereas Vitter’s actions, thus far, show he puts principle before personal profit.

Theresa Ellender,

Bourg, La.