| Dear Neighbor and Fellow
Voter,
My name is Robert M. Neeld.
I'm writing to you today, asking for your support
so that I can represent you in the next Congress from Florida's
14th District.
In return for your support and your vote, I give
you this solemn pledge:
· I will represent you and your neighbors
to the absolute best of my ability.
· My door will always be open to you, here and in Washington.
· I will always remember that you sent me to Washington.
I'm a native Floridian and life-long resident of
Lee County. My background is in business and in accounting. Those
of you who know me, and there are many, know that my word is my
bond.
I also have a longstanding commitment to service
within our community: to our seniors, to our young people, and
to those among us who are fighting just to make ends meet.
Over the next few months, I'll share my thoughts
with you on several matters of mutual importance. I have one clear
goal: to earn your support and your vote so that I can represent
you in the Congress of this great nation.
Please let me begin by painting for you a picture
of the way things really are in the 14th District. It's a picture
that all of the Republican Congressional candidates don't want
you to see.
Republicans want you to believe that we're all
just one small step away from becoming millionaires. But you and
I both know that this just isn't the case. But guess what? Many
of our fellow citizens don't have jobs that pay family-supporting
wages. Thousands of our neighbors don't have a lick of health
insurance and are mired in poverty.
It's hard to believe, but it's true: many of our
hard-working friends and neighbors are being shut out of the Great
American Dream. This is a shame because government - especially
the Federal Government - has a legitimate role to play in maintaining
and improving the general welfare and the common good.
Here's another part of the GOP picture. Using bookkeeping
practices that would shame even ENRON, Republicans would have
you to believe that federal bucks have flooded back to the 14th
District for the benefit of all of us, such as on airport expansion,
highways and the like.
But when you add it all up, we still don't get
our fair share of taxes to offset lapses in other vital areas
such as job creation and training- important concerns that have
a more profound impact on our ability to support ourselves, our
families and our neighborhoods.
Vote for me and I guarantee that the GOP's ENRON-like
book-juggling will be exposed.
Support my candidacy and I'll guarantee you that new priorities
will be set.
Here's another issue of importance where my voice
in Congress will definitely make a difference. In fact, it could
be considered the 14th District's emerging public problem - by
far.
You and I live in one of the most beautiful areas
of the USA. We're proud of this.
But the other undeniable fact is, thousands upon
thousands of our fellow citizens either can't find necessary health
care services or that they just can't afford them.
Like me, you have to be deeply concerned about
this abysmal state of affairs, especially for our Veterans, for
our seniors and for young people just beginning their careers
as contributing members of our society. It's currently a problem
of catastrophic proportions -- and the problem will only get much
worse.
Remember the picture that the GOP doesn't want
you to see? What my opponents don't want you to know is this:
tax dollars necessary to help solve this problem were, are, and
will be there - right within the Federal Budget. Remember, it's
all about priorities.
As your Congressman, I'll target getting your fair
share of these tax dollars returned to this District for quality
health care.
Remember: those dollars are available despite recent
tax cuts - and they'll continue to be a part of the Federal Budget
for a long time to come.
It's too bad that Republicans don't even think
to ask for what could have been the 14th District's fair portion
of those tax dollars for important services, isn't it? Instead,
they make cuts!
You can count on it: I'll deliver our fair share
of federal money back to where it belongs: right here in the 14th
District! And, I'll never vote to raise your taxes in order to
get that fair share, either!
My opponents would also have you to believe that
the health care delivery system here is in great shape. After
all, Southwest Florida boasts of many medical practitioners who
are right at the top of their particular specialty.
But ask yourself: if this is an emerging problem
with crisis proportions, then what's the problem when we're led
to believe that many good doctors practice right here in this
area?
The answer is: medical availability is an illusion
for thousands of our fellow citizens! And here's why.
Allow me to paint you the real, brutal picture
endured by some of our fellow citizens. It isn't very pretty:
· Mental health clinics are either cutting
services or closing down.
· Sickle Cell Anemia is rampaging epidemically through
our community.
· Veterans have to wait for months to get needed medical
care.
· Trauma Centers are fixing to shut down, denying Southwest
Floridians vital, life-saving services.
· Clinical and follow-up care services for AIDS patients
are virtually non-existent.
· Substance abuse and psychiatric clinical services have
been slashed.
· Prenatal care is non-existent in some of our neediest
neighborhoods.
· Many senior citizens can't get the specialized care that
they require.
· Many young, hard-working folks are coldly being turned
away at the very doors of medicine due to lack of, or inadequate
insurance.
· Seasonal and migrant workers are virtually excluded from
the health care delivery system.
Now, consider this fact.
Many senior citizens are forced to choose between
food on the table or paying for high-priced prescriptions.
Plain and simple, this situation just isn't right
for any American!
The ultimate tragedy is that none of this should
be happening --if Republicans in Congress and the Bush Administration
had been paying attention to America's real priorities.
Have you heard that ad, the one with the guy who claims that the
Federal Government will hand out $350 billion dollars to people
like you, to start a coffee shop, become a French Chef, get a
GED, or finish college? You know what? The guy's absolutely right
in one sense.
The federal government actually budgets money like
this -- and don't forget, it's your tax dollars. With the US Treasury
seemingly awash in tax dollars for less important things, it just
doesn't make sense that some people have to make hard choices
between eating and medicines, or be compelled to file for bankruptcy
because of unpaid medical bills, or be turned away at a veteran's
clinic!
I'll say it again: it's all about setting priorities
that are in tune with needs of the good people living and working
in the 14th District!
When you send me to Washington, my first order
of business will be to go over the Federal Budget line-by-line,
identify misdirected funds, and then fight hard to get your tax
dollars re-directed back home, to meet our fellow citizens' needs
and priorities - from top to bottom. By the way, I've already
found a little $13.8 billion mistake in the federal report for
Fiscal 2002. That's Billion with the Capital "B"- and
we're talking about your money here!
My GOP opponents are already busy, ramping up to
cling onto the 14th District Seat in Congress. They're raising
money hand over fist like plutocrats while they're talking about
the same-old, same-old.
It's time for change. It's time to reset priorities.
It's time for better constituent service. It's time for thoughtful
leadership. It's time for a Democrat to win in the 14th Congressional
District -- then go to work on your behalf - and not be beholden
to outsiders, high-paid lobbyists and special interests.
To take back the People's House from outsiders
and special interests, I need your help. I don't have to tell
you that this Congressional campaign will be costly. That's the
reality in today's political world although I wish that this wasn't
the case. Pragmatically, I have to match the opposition. I have
to secure resources and then use them in the best way possible,
for example, to pay for expensive media and for other vital campaign
expenses.
I have to do this in order to get important messages
like this one out there, to folks like you!
Though federal campaign contribution limits are
much higher, I've set a ceiling of $2,000.00 per individual campaign
contribution, believing that this will encourage more people to
get involved. You may decide to contribute an amount less than
this - but rest assured, every dollar will be well-spent on winning
this very important Congressional race for the Democratic Party!
For your convenience, I've enclosed an envelope
for your contribution. It also contains boxes for you to check
off in the event that you can help my campaign in any capacity.
Democrats have an unprecedented opportunity to
capture an open Congressional seat. With your help, Democrats
can make it happen!
I'll continue to share my thoughts with you about
important matters that have been unaddressed by my opponents for
far too long. I want to make my case clear. I want to earn your
respect, your support and your vote.
So, please contribute today. Volunteer for my campaign.
Above all, vote! Together, let's make Southwest Florida a better
place for us all!
Thank you for your time and please accept my best
personal regards.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Neeld
PS: Respectfully, I encourage your Democrat
friends and neighbors to run for public office this November.
Let's put a stop to the days of Republicans running uncontested
on the ballot for Lee County Sheriff, the County Commission, the
Board of Education and the Florida State Legislature! All Democrat
on this year's ballot will have my full and unqualified support.
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