Current mood:	anxious
Entry tags:	politics

PSA: The Edwards Plan
I make no secret of the fact that I support Barrack Obama for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and thereafter, for the Presidency.

I just read one of Obama's mass emailings, again asking me to donate money to the campaign, because John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have "outside groups" spending millions in their support. Obama, of course, claims to want to do away with this kind of "politics as usual" -- a goal of which I generally approve.

But something about the way this appeal was phrased made me a little ... suspicious ... as to what the truth of the matter might be. So, I went looking for facts.

What I discovered -- completely unrelated to the original goal of my search -- made me not suspicious, but ALARMED. Look at this excerpt from John Edwards' official campaign website about his universal healthcare plan:

* Once these steps have been taken, requiring all American residents to get insurance.

If you aren't scared, read it again. No, I'll wait for you.

Edwards' plan makes the same mistake that the Clinton Plan did in 1994: It puts the cart WAY before the horse. It mandates universal healthcare insurance, but ignores the even more basic universal needs of food, clothing and shelter.

The Clinton Plan was all set to force hospitals to become homeless shelters. The Edwards Plan will require every resident of America to pay for health insurance, even if she cannot afford to feed her children. How will Edwards enforce this requirement? Will he open the War on the Uninsured? Will this universal healthcare eventually be provided by prison infirmaries?

I won't argue that the American healthcare system needs serious financial overhaul. (I have no such qualms about the provider side of the system -- our medical facilities and technology are more than up for the job.) On the other hand, reality demands that we recognize that "universal healthcare" is impossible until after we've solved the problems of "universal subsistence".

Any politician who is intelligent enough to be a legislator or an executive knows that universal healthcare is a chimera. Therefore, I will automatically distrust any politician who espouses it -- that person is a liar who is trying to distract my attention away from actual, achievable goals.

Caucuses and primary elections are coming up, beginning in just one week. I urge all of you to LEARN all you can about the goals of the various candidates, to THINK about what they say and do, and then to VOTE as your conciences dictate.

Our children may one day have cause to thank you.