An Open Letter to Senator Clinton

I've submitted the following to Sen. Clinton's website, prompted by her mention last night of wanting to hear from her supporters. I'll be sending a letter to Sen. Obama (or at least his mail-readers) as well, which I will also post here. And, hey, weren't those two incredible speeches last night?

Dear Senator Clinton,

I'm writing in response to your comment last night that you want to hear from your supporters to determine how to go forward.

First and foremost, I want to congratulate you on an excellent showing in this primary season, and an incredible speech last night. And I want to thank you for everything you've done so far.

All through my childhood, I was told that women can do anything men can do, and I truly believed it. But after years of fighting a society that didn't get the message, I'm exhausted. I work in an industry composed primarily of women, but the majority of our executives are men. I am paid about 50% of the local average for my job and experience level, despite excellent annual reviews and a history as a valuable member of the company. When my son was born, I slipped from the "woman" pay scale to the "mommy" pay scale, just in time to start making those monthly daycare payments.

Watching your campaign, your courage and perseverance in the face of a sometimes hostile media, and seeing that nearly half of the Democratic party responded to your message, has given me hope that what I was told really is true. A woman can do whatever she sets out to do, even if it's something in a traditionally male sphere. I know it will still be harder for us, that we'll still have to fight to prove ourselves in a way that men won't, and that makes me angry. But your campaign has renewed my faith that success is possible for women, and for that, I thank you.

What you do from here, of course, is your decision, but I hope you will continue fighting for universal health care. Whether you continue to do so from your seat in the Senate, or from a different position in a new Democratic administration, I believe this is a fight that needs to happen, and needs to happen now. When my son was born, I was lucky enough to have reasonable insurance that had covered much of my very complicated pregnancy, although not without extensive prompting and checking-up on my part. We decided to add him to his father's insurance policy, as it was more cost-effective than mine, and that decision was the start of a year-long nightmare of bills going unpaid and fruitless phone calls where insurance representative assured me everything would be sorted out, but nothing ever was. The insurance companies argued back and forth that the other should be responsible for any bills related to my son, and I spent hours every week on the phone trying to clear it all up.

In the end, the bills for my pregnancy-related expenses came to nearly $80,000, most of which could never have been foreseen. The bills for my son's care amounted to a far smaller, but still significant amount. I was incredibly lucky to have insurance that, while difficult, was comprehensive enough to eventually cover most of the cost. How on earth does a family who isn't so lucky deal with this sort of expense? How can we possibly have become a country in which childbearing is only a possibility for the wealthy? We know that the system we have is intolerable, and we need you to lead the way in crafting a better one, so that no woman ever has to choose between proper pre-natal care and paying rent.

I was thrilled to be a first-round delegate for you in Washington state, and I'm proud to have been a small part of a primary season that has been historic in so many ways. You have made me proud to be an American, and given me strength to keep fighting, and I hope that, although Senator Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, I will still have the pleasure of seeing you active in the political arena, and still fighting for what should be a basic human right.