Jackson Ripley, 12-Year-Old, Writes Letter To Romney Stating His Disapproval

A 12-year-old boy from Colorado wrote Mitt Romney a letter detailing why he does not approve of Romney or his ideas.

According to the Huffington Post, Jackson Ripley, 12, was watching political news coverage on pre-existing health care with his mother when he decided to write Mitt Romney a letter. The letter begins with young Ripley saying :

“Dear Governor Romney, I’d like to say congratulations on winning the republican nomination. But, I wish you stayed in Massachusetts. You’re plan for America isn’t what we need, and would hurt us more than it would help.”

The young Ripley then goes on to question Romney’s healthcare stance and whether or not he will actually repeal Obamacare, especially in regard to patients with pre-existing conditions. Ripley cites contradicting statements from Romney on Meet the Press and the Tonight Show to get his point across. Jackson also calls out Romney on his stance on gay and women’s rights saying:

“You’re domestic plans (birth control, gay rights etc.) are horrible! Women should get to manage their own health, and if you wonder why you’re not appealing to many women voters, rethink your birth control and women’s’ rights plans. And people should be able to marry whom they want.”

It seems that Jackson’s family’s life experiences have naturally developed his strong political views. For example, his little sister Kennedy has had pre-existing medical conditions since she was 4 weeks old. She developed a hemangioma — which is an abnormal, raised tumor of blood vessels — on her face. The tumor grew so large that Kennedy was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at just nine months old.

In 2009, the failing economy left Kennedy’s father, John Ripley, without a job for a short period of time. This meant that the family no longer had health insurance. John got a new job about 3 months later, but the smaller size of the company meant that they had to shop for insurance elsewhere. Everywhere they shopped for insurance, they were all accepted … except for Kennedy.

“Next to my daughter’s name in big black bold letters was the word DENIED. The reason: Dollar amount previously spent, number of hospitalizations within five years and the pre-existing condition, congestive heart failure. I knew they were going to deny Kennedy, but I wasn’t prepared for how angry and sick it would make me feel.”

Lindsay Ripley commented:

“Like the insurance companies were saying my daughter was trash, she didn’t matter, wasn’t worth the same the health care and coverage the rest of us enjoy. Our only option was to purchase Kennedy an expensive policy through an insurance company exclusively for people with pre-existing conditions. Although they accepted Kennedy and took our money each month, they refused to cover her pre-existing condition, or anything caused by it, which was almost everything.”

Jackson explained some of his reasoning behind the letter:

“My inspiration for the letter was basically my frustration. It was painful (and sometimes a little funny) to see all the people that blindly [sic] supporting Mitt Romney, and I felt like I should bring that to people’s attention. I already knew that his plans for America would tear us apart, and would bring more harm than good to families like mine, so I had to make a stand. What he would do was unfair, and I wanted to say something about that.”

If you want to read the full letter that Jackson wrote to Romney, here it is. Enjoy!

“Dear Governor Romney,

I’d like to say congratulations on winning the republican nomination. But, I wish you stayed in Massachusetts. You’re plan for America isn’t what we need, and would hurt us more than it would help.

First, repealing Obama care and other health plans he’s put in place have helped families across America, including mine. I live in a middle class family, and two years ago my little sister; Kennedy was denied insurance because of her pre-existing condition. This was a huge emotional stress and financial burden on my entire family. Under Obama Care, insurance companies can no longer deny Kennedy and kids like her, the coverage they need and deserve. Because of Obama care my little sister was able to have the several surgeries she needed that helped save her life. Once the President was elected he put Obama Care into action, just like he promised and made it so that you could get insurance with pre-existing conditions. This has made a direct impact on my family. My family is with out a doubt better off now, than we were four years ago!

It is to my understanding that you stated that you were going to repeal Obama Care, including the part I have mentioned, which will take away the insurance we have and need for my sister Kennedy. Why do you think she doesn’t deserve health care? Also, when you were interviewed on “Meet the Press”, you stated that you would NOT repeal this part of Obama Care, but then your campaign backpedalled and on the “Tonight show with Jay Leno”, you said that you WOULD repeal this.

Also, you’re domestic plans (birth control, gay rights etc.) are horrible! Women should get to manage their own health, and if you wonder why you’re not appealing to many women voters, rethink your birth control and women’s’ rights plans. And people should be able to marry whom they want. We built this country so people could have freedom, and not have religious beliefs control them to that length. This country was in no way built on any religion, so we should not create laws that repress the American people in a religious way and hurt our most vulnerable.

Sincerely, Jackson Ripley, age 12”