Christmas All Year Long.

Published in the Winter Haven, FL  News Chief on 

Saturday, January 29, 2000

This is a wonderful season… the candidates are going to do great things for us… Gore is going to guarantee the right to an abortion, Gary Bauer is going to “Protect the unborn”, Forbes is going to do away with the current income tax, Bradley is going to “give” us universal healthcare…McCain is going to reform campaign finance laws.   Like Christmas all year long!!!!    Let me take one aspect… reforming campaigns… not just the finance part.

 The emphasis on campaign reform has been all wrong.  All we hear is money, money, money.  If just we did not have so much money sloshing around in the political process everything would be just peachy… and we would all get just what WE want.  

The real problem with the political process is the lack of candor, the lack of well thought out answers to questions to the candidates.  I would demand that you have to give at least a paragraph response… absolutely no more “I feel your pain”, “I’m going to Fight for ____” 

 Give you an example…  A college student asked one of the candidates about prescriptions for old folks.  Her question was…  “My grandparents cannot afford to pay for the prescription they need.  We just can’t afford health care!  They need help, what are you going to do about it?  The candidate gave a bromide answer about how he to was concerned about this problem… blaa… blaa  blaa  and on to the next questions.

A possible answer if the candidate were forced to bring perspective and a complete answer to the question would go something like this.

“Thanks for the question (always be polite) but let me restate your question.  I understand that your grandparents cannot afford the prescriptions.  Is what I am hearing that you would like someone else to pay for them and you want the government to force someone else to pay for these prescriptions?

 Voter: “Well, er, I mean…….”

 Candidate: “Someone has to pay.  Would you like me to pay?” 

 Voter: “No, can’t it be Medicare?…..”

 Candidate: So you would like the taxpayers to pay?

 Voter: “Well, I guess so.”

 Candidate:  “But you said that we can’t afford to pay….”

 Voter: “Well, I just think…. I mean…. I don’t know…”

I would suggest the following answer:  “You can implement this policy on your own right now.  You don’t have to wait for the congress to act.  You are saying to me that you want the taxpayers and you are a taxpayer that will ultimately have to pay for your grandmother’s medicine… Why don’t you step up to the plate and say;  “Grandma.. I will buy your prescriptions.” 

This is what you ultimately want.  You want the government to come in and force you to pay (with new additional taxes) for these prescriptions.

 Wouldn’t this be refreshing?  Forcing the candidate and the voter to defend his or her position.  But we all feel there is magic in getting the government to do it.  Somehow the cost will be very little to me and my grandparents or I will get a great big benefit.  Sure the costs will be spread out, but when everybody is getting “free” prescriptions… guess who will win… Your corner pharmacy and the drug companies!  If you take a look at the number of prescriptions now taken by your grandparents… just double that when it is all “free”.  And you the young taxpayer will be paying off these debts for years to come.

 In this wonderful season of blather, just remember when a candidate is “fighting for this or that” he is also fighting AGAINST someone.  Before you get that warm and fuzzy feeling about a candidate… try to determine who is the victim in his rhetoric. .