Pick a Side
Oct 1st, 2009 by David Anderson
Senator Tom Carper has no vote of conviction on the health care debate. He votes with Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus limiting abortion and against the Rockefeller amendment for a so-called public option. He then votes against the Hatch amendments including the very important conscience clause which would prevent health care workers and hospitals from being pressured to participate in abortion. He votes for the Schumer amendment which would have a modified public option better to the liking of big insurance, but one which could undermine the small companies. He is all over the map, and even has a one page weird proposal of his own.
Sometimes in an important debate there is no value in being a wave tossed back and forth. There is value in understanding the issues and moving in a definite direction with conviction. There is a value in picking in a side. The Senator knows that the public option is exactly the wrong way to go.
Medicare has been a disaster for those with health insurance in recent years under a Democrat Congress. The government has cost shifted to people with insurance by underpaying for basic services. The best part has been the more market oriented programs such as the prescription drug benefit and Medicare advantage which are defined contribution not defined benefit. Now the government is threatening to cut payments by 21% more plus another half a trillion if the bill passes. When Republicans proposed 6.4 billion in cuts over 5 years in 2005, Hillary Clinton said it endangered Seniors and Harry Reid called it immoral. Now Democrats are threatening the very viability of their star program with 500 billion in cuts.
Enter a Democrat from Florida who out of the blue says Republican health plans boil down to don’t get sick or die quickly. That is scary because Democrats tend to accuse Republicans of whatever they are planning. It appears that the Democrat plan is for Medicare to die on vine so it can be folded into one big universal plan. Such a strategy will weaken the clout of seniors and their interests.
In this backdrop we need leadership, but our senior senator just seems confused. I was hoping for better.
Carper is weak. It’s that simple. A nice guy, but weak.