Mary's Mail, July

Dear Supporters - the heart and soul of this campaign,

Welcome to the second edition of Mary's Mail. It was one year ago this month that we decided as a family to enter this race. The campaign is all-consuming and it helps to have so many great supporters to keep our family energized. November is within reach and it is amazing to see how far we've come.

We all know that health care is a huge problem in our country and we are surrounded by people who do not have health insurance. Recently, I volunteered at a free clinic for the uninsured. It is one thing to know that about 600,000 Oregonians are without health care, but to put names and faces and stories to some of those 600,000 people is a completely different thing - very sobering.

When I arrived at the clinic to work for the evening, the waiting room was packed - every chair filled, people standing in the doorway, and children sitting on their parents laps. I noticed how the room was very quiet for the number of people there. Everyone was just sitting patiently and I sensed a preparedness in the room to wait as long as necessary in order to see a doctor. I was told that as volunteers, we work until there are no more patients so I didn't know how long I would be there either.

There were common threads among all the people I saw that night. People had very real health related issues -- some rather simple, some more complicated. But what I found is that they all had waited to seek help because they did not have health insurance -- waiting often means problems become more complex -- it means stress and worry. The other common thread I noticed is that all the people I saw were working hard to make their way in the world.

We saw a woman who was exactly my age and I was so happy that she told me she had just been accepted to nursing school. She was visibly excited about this accomplishment and the road ahead, but she does not have health insurance. It really struck me. Here is a person who has worked extremely hard to get into nursing school so that she can provide health care to others and she does not even have insurance for herself. She is on her own until she finishes school and gets a job. This is crazy to me!

I believe health care is a basic human right. It is staggering and appalling that we do not take care of our students -- our sisters and brothers -- our sons and daughters -- our parents and grandparents. Isn't time we elect people who will fight for health care for all our communities and all our families?

Please join me in electing my husband Jeff Merkley as our next U.S. Senator. Jeff will listen to nurses like me and fight to reform our health care system.

If you want to talk to me more about health care, I can be reached at mary@jeffmerkley.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

All my best,

Mary

PS: Grassroots support is crucial if Jeff's going to take on the special interests and win in November. If you have the ability, please consider making a donation to Jeff's campaign and help him bring real health care reform to Washington.

Posted July 17, 2008
Meet Mary