Yes, Senator McCaskill, there is a Santa Claus

Santa Claus represents the spirit of giving. This spirit is shared by all during the Christmas season. Family and friends join together to celebrate the holiday and exchange gifts. The giving of help and gifts to those less fortunate brings joy and happiness to those who give and to those who receive. The true meaning of the Christmas holiday has nothing to do with how big or how expensive the gifts are.

Sixty U.S. senators violated the true meaning of Christmas when they decided to vote Christmas Eve and pass a bill described as a gift of health care for all. This is a gift that all Americans and their children will pay for in the form of taxes before it is even opened. Taxes start now. The plan starts in three to four years. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and 59 other senators ignored what it really means to give.

The true meaning of giving is sharing your time and exchanging gifts with family, friends and others in need. This spirit lives throughout the world. Unfortunately, it does not exist in the U.S. Senate, because what McCaskill and 59 other senators forgot was that a true gift is given without expecting anything in return or expecting the receiver of the gift to pay for their gift and all the other gifts that are given.

When McCaskill and the other 59 senators opened their gifts on Christmas morning, let's hope there was a package containing two books: a copy of "The Night Before Christmas" and the U.S. Constitution.

Yes, Senator McCaskill, there is a Santa Claus, and the spirit of giving he represents will survive. Sixty senators need to recognize this spirit and listen to those who elected them. In January, they must cancel the entire current health bill and work to lower unemployment, taxes and the deficit. They are not elected to make deals for their own political and financial profit.

McCaskill is one of the 60, and she can make it happen by voting no. The American people do not want a government that gives gifts. They want the broken parts of health care fixed (tort reform and open bidding across state lines). They want to give capitalism an opportunity to add jobs. They want to pay less taxes. They want to end the entitlement philosophy. They want to support our troops. They want to reduce the size of government. And they want to put a stop to the spending of money we do not have.

Sharon Giebler of Cape Girardeau is a retired teacher.