LA Times—For a healthcare holdout, it’s lonely in the middle

Posted by Kendall Harmon

As one of the few senators undecided on healthcare reform, Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln faces a huge headache. Liberals attack her as an obstructionist, even though she cast a key vote keeping the effort alive. Republicans are lining up to run against her -- seven, so far, and counting.

The voters here at home seem conflicted, if not downright confused.

Take Jim Havens. He greeted Lincoln with a warm embrace when she showed up at the University of Central Arkansas for a service honoring veterans; his late brother was a family friend. Moments later, as Lincoln sat on stage, the 73-year-old state employee related his frustrations with the healthcare system: the struggle to cover his wife before Medicare kicked in, the exclusions that made her expensive policy barely worth the cost.

"What we got is broken," Havens said. But, he quickly added, "what I don't think we need to do is rush to fix it and make things even worse."

Read it all.


Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • --The 2009 American Health Care Reform Debate • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • Senate

5 Comments
Posted November 23, 2009 at 6:41 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. tgs wrote:

Anyone with even a little bit of common sense knows that this bill is a terrible bill in money cost, in medical service cost and in liberty lost cost for all Americans. To vote to allow this bill to continue on as Blanche Lincoln did is frankly despicable and she doesn’t deserve sympathy from anyone.

November 23, 8:34 am | [comment link]
2. Alta Californian wrote:

All she did was vote to allow a debate.  Why should you fear a debate?

November 23, 12:11 pm | [comment link]
3. Br. Michael wrote:

3. because it’s a quick kill.  Better to strangle it in the crib.  Besides the Democrats do it all the time when they can.

November 23, 4:38 pm | [comment link]
4. John Wilkins wrote:

Actually, this bill will save tens of thousands of lives, force insurers to be more competitive, and free up the economy.  Anyone who has read Kenneth Arrow knows this.  Over 10 years, more money in the system will be saved, and productivity will increase.  Abortion rates will go down and people will live longer.

Anyone with common sense can see this.

November 23, 5:17 pm | [comment link]
5. Dilbertnomore wrote:

This bill also will further enrich trial lawyers, create a very few much more powerful and wealthy insurance companies, shift the massive financial burden unions have faithlessly promised their members to the backs of taxpayers, diminish and dilute the medical profession, write off the lives of any who become too expensive for the state to justify keeping alive, enthrone Eugenics as the law of the land, and much more.

Remember, Medicare was sold on the promise that it would cost 1/10th what it now costs. The same dismal financial history is replete in dozens of other government programs sold on the promise of their social necessity. From Social Security to Medicaid all are in deep financial holes. Why should we have any confidence at all the this canard will deliver any different result?

Congress should focus its attention to fixing the many legislatiove messes it has made over the years up yet another excrement sandwich to our nation.

November 23, 11:02 pm | [comment link]
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