Our Representatives Couldn't Care Less

After Thursday’s marathon political circus it is clear that Obamacare will still remain as this nation’s healthcare provider.  However whether you’re joyous or sad regarding this outcome is irrelevant because out of this dysfunctional episode called health care reform one glaring aspect of our political system stood out.

Basically many of our representatives couldn’t care less about the quality of life of the constituents they represent.  After Friday’s early morning vote media outlets reported the following, “Even some senators who voted for the ‘skinny bill’ conceded that its enactment could have been disastrous.”

One can only conclude from this reporting that although the measure failed by one vote, it was perceived by many senators that the bill would have been detrimental to those it served.  Apparently several Republican senators seemed relieved that it failed.  Three took the heat and had the courage to vote their conscience of what they thought was best for their constituents, given the alternative, rather than perform as spineless sheep, Louisiana’s two senators included in the latter group.

Even in the beginning of the healthcare reform movement, after the House passed by four votes its version to replace Obamacare, many Republican House members appeared to be glad punting the bill to the Senate, where they acknowledge it would be changed or stall.  One was quoted as saying, “We had a vote over here, but the Senate will fix whatever we did wrong,” again opting to follow as a sheep rather than assume any responsibility in clearly voting what he perceived would be best for this country.  After its passage President Trump, in his limited vocabulary, even called the House bill “mean,” expressing hope the Senate bill might have a bit more “heart.”

Republicans had seven years to devise a health care replacement or reform for The Affordable Care Act.   During that interval all they did was complain, and when the time came to produce their plan had none.   Consequently they were forced to rapidly throw one together in both the House and the Senate in less than a month without review or debate.  In the Senate the plan was developed by 13 Republican male senators in totally secrecy behind closed doors.  Six of those Senators’ largest campaign donors were health insurance providers or pharmaceutical corporations.  Talk is cheap, meaningful action is difficult.

Our Republican leaders claimed they wished to serve their constituents by repealing Obamacare, but when given the chance voted for something they doubted was any better and felt might be worse.  Yet, they voted for it anyway. Today’s Democrats are no better.  Clearly there is something morally wrong with this picture. 

However, if anyone had any doubts about whether or not our political system is broken, the healthcare reform attempt should resolve that question; it’s broken from the Congress up to the Commander- in- Chief. 

Everything is a Contest

Why does the media have to perpetuate the political divide in this country by continuing to portray every political action of our state legislators as some type of sporting event?  They always report political actions as some “win or loss.”  Monday’s Advocate front page headline “House Republican leadership dealt first major loss” was a perfect example of this sport-contest mentality.

We have a Republican majority in Baton Rouge, and whenever there is debate about a proposed bill, House and Senate members huddle to make sure that passage won’t appear like a “win” for the Democratic governor, or as a “loss” for them. And the press reinforces this behavior by headlines like the one that appeared Monday.

Maybe it’s just an over-abundance of male testosterone but the extent of this desire to always appear as “the winner” is destroying this state.

The media needs to lose the sporting event mentality by changing its focus from identifying “winners and losers,” and instead report about how these legislative actions will benefit our state and its citizenry.

Maybe then our legislators will get the message that there are no “winners and losers” at the State Capital, but only long term effects for Louisiana.

Everyboddy hates Everbody

Occasionally someone just writes something so profound that it can’t be expressed any better.  Please read and reread slowly what Mark Z. Barabak of the Los Angeles Times wrote about the tragedy that occurred Wednesday:

“The targeted shooting of Republican lawmakers at play yielded a kaleidoscope of emotions Wednesday — anger, revulsion, horror — but little in the way of surprise.

The attack almost seemed a natural, if sick, extension of the virulence that surrounds the country’s increasingly tribal politics.

As if to prove it, events quickly settled into a familiar pattern: finger-pointing, blame-laying, partisan positioning.  People today don’t just disagree.  They’ve grown to hate the other side, from President Donald Trump on down.

Not necessarily over issues or ideology, which can be debated or leavened by compromise, but rather as an outgrowth of a deeper pathology, a contempt toward people for merely existing.”

We have now become a nation where people hate Democrats for simply being Democrat and hate Republicans for simply being Republican.

Hopefully, we as a nation will learn from this tragedy and stop the lunacy.

However, if past history is any indication, when representative Gabby Giffords was shot we, as a nation, pledge to change our ways.  Unfortunately it was short lived.

We again stand at a serious crossroad in our country, and hopefully this time around, we choose the correct path by permanently eliminating our politically-charged hatred.