The White House says it wants to hear from us:

On February 4, 2010, President Obama will be speaking to grassroots supporters like you and answering your questions about our plan going forward. You can RSVP to join this event online and submit a question for the President [...]

Republicans oppose anything that does not make life better for big business. It really is that simple, and while the President’s pleas for bipartisanship are laudable, someone needs to clue him in: They have fallen on deaf ears. So let’s do it.

At this link, you will find the fascinating Q-and-A between the President and House Republicans that Jason Rosenbaum refers to in his latest diary, but with a twist: The page also carries the above invitation. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take a few moments this weekend to make your voice heard, and ask your like-minded friends to do the same.

To make submitting questions easier, I’ve provided below a paraphrased version of the question I left. Feel free to cut and paste whatever might speak to you, or write your own – but either way, let’s take advantage of this opportunity to make our feelings known within OFA.

"Mr. President, your consistent attempts to reach bipartisan consensus are laudable, your belief that both the tone and the tactics used in Washington must change indisputable. But as your Q-and-A with House Republicans clearly demonstrates, they are at the least resistant to working with you and at worst not interested at all. The notion that this will change anytime soon is not realistic. In short, Mr. President, they are wasting your time, while thousands lose their health care insurance and some, their very lives.

"Progressives believe there are certain things so basic to our model of democracy that business is not to be trusted with them; things that DIRECTLY impact Americans’ rights to Life (health care), Liberty (government transparency) and the Pursuit of Happiness (civil rights).

"Ask yourself, Mr. President: If LBJ had entrusted the formulation and passage of the Voting Rights Act to, say, Strom Thurmond – would you be sitting in the White House today?

"Then ask yourself: How likely is it that a compromised deal on health insurance reform – cut today with people who strenuously object to the notion of covering all Americans without regard for their ability to pay – will make that coverage a reality a generation from now?

"It is this apparent disconnect in trying to make Republicans happy with health insurance reform – they are NEVER going to be, sir – that is leaving not just your grassroots supporters flummoxed, but ALL those who sacrificed their time to help you win your unprecedented mandate in 2008.

"And so it is with all due respect, Mr. President, that I ask: If guaranteeing all Americans access to health care, without regard for their ability to pay, is NOT the appropriate issue on which to apply that mandate – please sir, what exactly IS?"

Cross-posted at TheMalcontent.com