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Seventeen Years Is Too Fast?Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2009 3:56 AMIt's nice to know Republicans care so deeply about healthcare for Americans that they're willing to play political football with the issue of healthcare reform. Just to stick it to Obama. Because this will be his 'Waterloo,' according to Sen. Jim DeMint. I'm sorry, but the 'hey, you can go to an emergency room and they have to treat you' approach is not a sensible or comprehensive healthcare strategy for our country. Think H1N1 - you want people to have access to medical care before a disease or condition becomes an emergency. Same for the 'it's too fast' argument. Too fast in relation to what, nearly two decades of obstructionism since Bill Clinton tried to do the same thing? It seems to me that the Bush Administration sandbagged the nation with several boondoggles, including USA PATRIOT and the AUMF, and the folks complaining about 'too fast' couldn't sell us out fast enough. And whoever thought GOP Chairman Michael Steele made a viable spokesman for anything, let alone healthcare, really needs their head examined. (That goes double for the media - why on earth is Steele being interviewed about Obama's healthcare initiatives? Where are the doctors? Where are the people who are actually working on the problem? I'd sooner see an insurance industry mouthpiece than Steele, who has no relevant experience.) Let's do some comparison shopping. Steele has promised us more of the same, bling-bling, off-the-hook, plus fried chicken and potato salad. Obama is trying to get a dialogue going on healthcare reform, boost the economy out of the sewer the previous administration left it in, restore our reputation abroad, and clean up two unfinished wars. Just for starters. Don't be fooled by the 'compromise' cooked up between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the legislature. Extensive cuts are still being made to education, and no small share of the burden will be placed on cities and counties. Think Obama's gonna take away yer guns? That must be why Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) is pushing an amendment that would allow concealed-carry permit holders to bear their weapons across state lines. That's right. If you were to have a permit in Texas, you could safely and legally carry your weapon all the way to California. Thune says this is so long-haul truckers can protect themselves. Opponents question its impact on states'-rights issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. (The precedent being that what is legal in one state is legal in another.) We close with some words of wisdom from former President Jimmy Carter pertaining to the misogyny inherent in mainstream religion, and how it's time to change.
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