A Father's Thoughts

Senator Coburn on the Health Care Law

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) was at a Town Hall Meeting covered by C-Span recently. When asked about the health care reform law he commented that we have the best health care system in the world and he told of his successful treatments for cancer. He also advocated the use of free market principles to reduce the cost of health care by introducing competition. His audience consisted of senior citizens, probably on Medicare, and they seemed to generally approve of his remarks or at least no one challenged him. 

Certainly if you are a member of Congress or very wealthy, our non-system can provide the best health care in the world. Even those of us on employer provided insurance, private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare have access to reasonable health care. But, how about the the 33 million uninsured, not presently covered, who will have access to insurance when the health care law is fully implemented. 

During the year long public debate leading up to passage, no Republican ever proposed an alternative that would extend coverage to 33 million uninsured and none are being proposed now. No one offered an example where free market principles were effective in delivering health care to the general population. T.R. Reid, author of The Healing of America after surveying the health care provided in a number of nations around the world noted that systems based on free market principle provided quality care only to those with adequate financial resources. 

Rather that spending more time trying to deny coverage to our fellow citizens, why not begin to seriously focus on difficult challenge of reducing our health care costs that are nearly double those in other nations that provide more comprehensive coverage? Why not develop proposals to reduce additional costs imposed on the system by our imperfect tort system? Why not begin to constructively find solutions to the uneven delivery of health care in this nation? We are at the beginning of the process of reforming our health care system. The challenges are great, but we are a resourceful people. 

It is time to move forward on health care reform.

The Cost of War

Chris Hedges is the author of "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" a finalist for the National Book Critics Circe for Non Fiction. In this essay he conveys the meaning that war has for those few families who are carrying the burden if our current wars.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/they_kill_alex_20100906/

As we approach the anniversary 9/11 let us remind ourselves of the terrible price being paid by so few.

My condolences to the Arredondo family. 

The Silly Season

We are entering the silly season of this election year in earnest. It is now apparently a foregone conclusion that the Democrats are going to be punished in November for not having restored the economy and created millions of new jobs. The Democrats have reverted to their default political position of weak defensiveness. No where has that been more evident than in the response to the Shirley Sherrod video. Reportedly she was asked to resign because she was going to be on Glenn Beck's show that night. If the administration trembles at the prospect of criticism by the FOX folks, is there any hope? Now we have other Democratic officeholders shrinking in the face of criticism of their accomplishments. Why can't these folks find some backbone? 

Is it any wonder that the voters who were so energized by the Obama campaign in 2008 have become a bit demoralized? I recall listening to the president's comments when he addressed the Park51 community center, two blocks from World Trade Center site, controversy and feeling that finally someone in the administration was challenging the misinformation that was being broadcast by some of the opponents. But then I had that sinking feeling again on the next day when the president's resolve appeared to be weakening in the face of media criticism. 

The voters' solution to the perceived Democratic failure is to turn control of the Congress over to the Republicans again. This is the same party that took control with a $230 billion surplus and in eight years managed to complete the Bush administration with a $1.3 trillion deficit. 

But have the Democrats failed? The nation was losing 720,000 jobs a month in February of 2009 and now the private sector is creating thousands of jobs a month, not enough to reduce the unemployment rate but clearly progress. The GDP was falling at more than 6% in February of 2009 and now it continues to grow, not enough, but it is growing. Income taxes were cut for 95% of workers as part of the stimulus program but all we hear in the media is that $800 billion was spent increasing the deficit. Now the Republican deficit hawks are opposed to not extending the tax cuts for those earning more that $250,000 a year. Do they call the $380 billion that will be added to the debt over ten years spending? Of course not.

The administration has managed the ending of the combat phase in Iraq competently and withdrawn 100,000 troops. The BP oil spill in the Gulf has stopped and people are returning to the beaches. Services for thousands of wounded members of the military have been increased. Secretary Clinton has been working to restart the peace process in the middle east.

These are crazy times. In spite of many accomplishments in the face if a united Republican resistance the Democrats are going to be punished this November in part because the president has disappointed many of his supporters. Guantanamo is still operating. Don't Ask Don't Tell has not been repealed. He has escalated our troops in Afghanistan. He is trying to reform the educational system and challenging the teacher's unions. The Card Check legislation hasn't been passed. The health care reform law didn't include a public option or an expansion of Medicare. 

On the other hand the Republicans are energized and the party has maintained their intellectually shallow but unified opposition absent any new policy ideas, and it is working. They have captured the narrative and while the president is losing ground among his base, there are very few Republican legislators even willing to challenge Limbaugh and Beck. Ah, such courage.

I wonder how many of the disenchanted liberals and progressives think that their goals will be advanced with a Republican controlled Congress?