Health Care and Closed Doors

In writing this blog, I've been pretty silent about the health care debate. I'm retired military and I was a military "brat." So you see, for most of my life, health care has been provided to me by the Federal government, in one form or another. Military medical coverage has good points and bad points; but you are "covered" (mostly). So, I haven't joined the debate about whether "nationalized" health care is a good thing, or whether "universal health coverage" would actually work. I didn't think it was right, since my health care is covered by the Veteran's Administration and by a form of nationalized insurance called Tricare.

Having said that.....I just have to weigh in now that the Democrats have decided to finalize the "look" of the health care bill behind closed doors; involving only a few "highly placed" Democrats. To me, this plan silences the voice of any opposition. It minimizes the voice of those who spoke at the health care town hall meetings held last fall. It ignores the ideas of the elected representatives of a good portion of this Country....those who vote Republican. By meeting behind closed doors, and not allowing any input into the "final" health care bill, it appears that the Democrat bigwigs will pander to their radical base, their fundraisers, and their ivory-tower apologists rather than try to find a way to approach any health care "crisis" from the point of view of a realist. This is not "open government" and it's not the way important issues should be decided! Secret, back-room meetings do nothing to advance the debate....they silence debate!

Check out this article by Max Pappas on the Freedom Works website. He summarizes several newspaper editors that are calling on the Obama administration to honor the "C-Span Promise" he made during his campaign; to have a more "transparent" government. I know that more campaign promises are broken than are kept...but this is one promise that should have been inviolate; especially when considering this health care bill. This is something that will have a profound impact on this country, its economy and its citizens. Those citizens have a right to know how the "final form" of the bill was written, and to know that their interests have been considered. All citizens have that right, even those who vote Republican!