The election of Scott Brown as the new U.S. senator from Massachusetts has thrown the health care bill off track. Regardless of whether the bill will improve the health care situation in the U.S. (what is in the bill, anyway?), the tactics used to negotiate the bill offends our innate sense of equality and integrity.
Look at all the parochial deals: extra Medicaid spending for Nebraska, exemptions from Medicare Advantage cuts for parts of Florida, special help for some asbestos disease sufferers in Montana, exempting health plans of union members from the “cadillac tax.”
Of course, this is how the Senate leadership crafted 60 votes to get the bill passed, but it bolstered the perception that the measure was pork barrel spending aimed at helping some more than others. And it makes us wonder what other dirty deals they did.
I recently read something very thought provoking in Alan Keyes’ blog:
“If there were a real conservative in the race in Massachusetts people in the “lesser of evil’ crowd would say he or she had no chance of winning. Of course, as long as we allow their arguments to prevent moral conservatives from uniting beyond what they truly believe, the spoiler effect of the Republican Party means that we will never know. The “lesser evil” drives out the greater good, leaving us with no choice but evil in some guise. I suspect that the conservative plurality would win in really contested three way races, even in a State like Massachusetts.
I know many voters who profess Christian faith who would rejoice to see that outcome. They would thank God for the miracle. The sad fact though is that their own lack of courage and conviction prevents it from happening. Faith can move mountains, but only after those who profess faith allow it to move their own hearts.”
This is why, in the last election, I voted for Alan Keyes instead of John McCain.
Here’s the rest of his post:
http://loyaltoliberty.blogspot.com/2010/01/is-scott-brown-just-sugarcoated.html
Hi, Phil: You asked what’s in the bill, so here are a handful of links that have helped me:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/12/22/our-non-wonky-guide-to-merging-the-senate-and-house-health-bills.aspx
http://www.newsweek.com/id/228630/page/1
http://www.newsweek.com//frameset.aspx/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kaiserhealthnews.org%2FStories%2F2009%2FDecember%2F24%2Fconsumers-guide-to-health-reform-update.aspx
Best,
–Cynthia