EDITOR:
I am furious with the stalling, lying tactics of those who hope to scuttle health care reform simply because they want to hand Obama a defeat. Never mind the millions who don't have decent care because the insurance companies won't cover them. Never mind that people need friends to put on spaghetti feeds to pay for lifesaving treatments. Never mind that a third of bankruptcies are due to medical bills. Making the president look bad and scoring points for their political party is more important.
And because they don't have any legitimate arguments or solutions, they rely on lies to incite the gullible. "Rationed health care?" That's what we have now. "Socialized medicine" describes Medicare to a "T." How many of you want to give that up and look for an affordable private insurer who will accept you and your pre-conditions in your 80s? Good luck with that. "Runaway abortions" and "euthanizing seniors" are pure, calculated, cynical lies designed to panic senior and conservative voters.
We cannot maintain the status quo. The rising cost of health care is holding back our families, businesses and economy, and we'd be crazy to continue to pay more and get less than other countries do.
We need universal health insurance now. It shouldn't be tied to our job. It must be affordable, efficient, comprehensive, and give equal access to quality care. If we don't go with a single payer system (my preference), it must at least offer the choice of a public plan to provide the competition to keep prices down and quality up, and it must be allowed to negotiate prices with providers. The priority must be meeting people's needs, not making excessive profits.
And to the thugs who've been enlisted to disrupt town hall meetings, your right to free speech may allow you to boo a response you don't like, or make a brief comment when it's your turn, but it does not extend to denying the rest of us the right to hear from our representatives and ask our questions. That's about as un-American as it gets, and I hope your movement gets the backlash it deserves. Some may see this as a way to revive their party, but in truth, they will destroy it with these brown shirt tactics.
