Gosh, it sure must be nice for Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) not to have to worry about his health care situation, ya know the one us tax payers are providing him. That fucking hawk wants President Obama to delay the health care legislation to focus on the war in Afghanistan.
"Jobs and our economy are terribly important. So this may be an audacious suggestion, but I would suggest we put aside the health care debate until next year, the same way we put cap and trade and climate change, and talk now about the essentials: the war and money."[1]
It’s sad to hear a federally elected official describe war as “essential.” It’s pretty pathetic to think that Congress, with its 475 senators & representatives and all their thousands of pages, interns and staffers cannot handle more than on issue at a time. We’ve come so far with the health care legislation it would be sheer stupidity to drop it now. I don’t think the majority of the 45.7 uninsured people (including me) would be happy to turn on the news to find that their government prefers war mongering to the care of its own citizens.[2] Thank goodness, Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) is a voice of reason:
"Absolutely not," said the Rhode Island Democrat. "I think we're in the midst of probably the most significant debate and conclusion with legislation that we've ever had. And the health care debate is essential to our economic future. There are businesses and individuals each year pay more and more for health care, it's become unaffordable. We have to go ahead and conclude this debate. To stop now would be stopping on the edge, I think, of significant reform, which is so important for the country. And frankly, I think, it's ironic. Under the Bush administration, there was no serious debate about Afghanistan. That was relegated to the sidelines. There was no attempt to pay for it. And suddenly, now, that becomes a critical need that we put aside health care. I don't think so. I think we have to push forward."[3]
Let’s get health care done and dealt with. The war will still be there. I guarantee it.
[1] FOXNews.com, “Senator Proposes Delaying Health Care Reform to Pay for Afghanistan War” www.foxnews.com http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/29/senator-proposes-delaying-health-care-pay-afghanistan-war/ updated 29 November 2009.
[2] 45.7 people is a US Census Bureau figure. “People” includes foreigners living in the US and those who wish to not purchase health insurance coverage among others. Some put the actual figure of uninsured Americans around 10 million. See, Philip Klein, “The Myth of the 46 Million,” www.spectator.org http://spectator.org/archives/2009/03/20/the-myth-of-the-46-million 20 March and Keith Hennessey, “How Many Uninsured People Nedd Additional Help From Taxpayers” www.keithhennessey.com http://keithhennessey.com/2009/04/09/how-many-uninsured-people-need-additional-help-from-taxpayers/ 9 April 2009.
[3] Sam Stein, “Lugar: Let’s Put Health Care On Hold To Deal With Afghanistan” www.huffingtonpost.com http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/29/lugar-lets-put-health-car_n_373019.html 29 November 2009.
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