A.J. DiCintio
Massachusetts: Vote! For God's sake, vote!
By A.J. DiCintio
The majority of Massachusetts voters usually vote blue; but as they have shown with their red votes over the years, they won't be told how to cast their ballots . . . by anyone.
Which brings us to Tuesday's election, in which Bay State voters have the opportunity to lead the nation by registering their opposition to two Washington's policies that are just plain crazy:
First, the "improvement" of America's historically vibrant, socially-stabilizing economy by doubling the Federal debt in the next decade — thereby either bankrupting America, ceding much of America's sovereignty to nations that hold our selfish Everest of debt, or saddling America with an incubus of stagnation-inducing tax increases certain to limit the future of our children as well as threaten the social stability of their culture.
Second, the "reform" of America's healthcare system through a de facto Federal takeover of 16% of the economy — with the lion's share of the cost to be laid not on the nation at large but upon the backs of its senior citizens.
Actually, the healthcare debacle, which will be going on in Congress even as Massachusetts voters go to the polls, serves as a metaphor for all the madness and insult being served up by Washington's majority politicians.
Yes, a monstrosity of 2,000 "reform" pages could be concocted only by politicians luxuriously ensconced at the level of government most removed from "We the People."
. . . Politicians who propose wringing the bill's bottom line cost from the sweat of the brows and the blood of the hearts of senior citizens.
. . . Politicians who claim the bill will maintain current benefits while cutting $400 billion from Medicare.
. . . Politicians who never seriously consulted medical professionals such as Dr. Atul Gawande (of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston), Donald Berwick, Elliott Fisher, Mark McClellan, and others who have offered insightful ideas for preserving the excellence of American medicine while controlling costs — without subjecting healthcare to the frightful dangers inherent in a government-controlled system.
. . . Politicians who conduct their "negotiations" in backrooms where powerful interests including unions and "advocacy groups" such as ACORN are warmly welcomed but Ordinary Citizens are frozen out.
. . . Politicians who pay bribes to certain "special" colleagues, unconscionably placing the citizens of states such as Nebraska and Louisiana on Federal welfare while asking people of other states, rich and poor alike, to bear the burden of their shameless payoffs.
. . . Politicians who have porked the bill with a host of ideologically inspired non-medical provisions, including requirements for "diversity" in medical hiring and the creation of a Big Brother bureaucracy for "Twinkie Control."
. . . Finally — and what a "finally" it is!
Politicians who just four days before the people of Massachusetts go to the polls, gave the ugly, vulgar, political finger to every decent, honest American by exempting union members only from paying an onerous tax on high coverage health insurance policies.
Regarding the insanity briefly and very incompletely described above, the hope here is that on Tuesday the people of Massachusetts will remember their heritage and vote in a way that honors Buttrick's 1775 cry of "Fire! for God's sake fire!" as well as Emerson's song of praise, sung sixty-two years later for every patriot who "fired the shot heard round the world."
© A.J. DiCintio
January 19, 2010
The majority of Massachusetts voters usually vote blue; but as they have shown with their red votes over the years, they won't be told how to cast their ballots . . . by anyone.
Which brings us to Tuesday's election, in which Bay State voters have the opportunity to lead the nation by registering their opposition to two Washington's policies that are just plain crazy:
First, the "improvement" of America's historically vibrant, socially-stabilizing economy by doubling the Federal debt in the next decade — thereby either bankrupting America, ceding much of America's sovereignty to nations that hold our selfish Everest of debt, or saddling America with an incubus of stagnation-inducing tax increases certain to limit the future of our children as well as threaten the social stability of their culture.
Second, the "reform" of America's healthcare system through a de facto Federal takeover of 16% of the economy — with the lion's share of the cost to be laid not on the nation at large but upon the backs of its senior citizens.
Actually, the healthcare debacle, which will be going on in Congress even as Massachusetts voters go to the polls, serves as a metaphor for all the madness and insult being served up by Washington's majority politicians.
Yes, a monstrosity of 2,000 "reform" pages could be concocted only by politicians luxuriously ensconced at the level of government most removed from "We the People."
. . . Politicians who propose wringing the bill's bottom line cost from the sweat of the brows and the blood of the hearts of senior citizens.
. . . Politicians who claim the bill will maintain current benefits while cutting $400 billion from Medicare.
. . . Politicians who never seriously consulted medical professionals such as Dr. Atul Gawande (of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston), Donald Berwick, Elliott Fisher, Mark McClellan, and others who have offered insightful ideas for preserving the excellence of American medicine while controlling costs — without subjecting healthcare to the frightful dangers inherent in a government-controlled system.
. . . Politicians who conduct their "negotiations" in backrooms where powerful interests including unions and "advocacy groups" such as ACORN are warmly welcomed but Ordinary Citizens are frozen out.
. . . Politicians who pay bribes to certain "special" colleagues, unconscionably placing the citizens of states such as Nebraska and Louisiana on Federal welfare while asking people of other states, rich and poor alike, to bear the burden of their shameless payoffs.
. . . Politicians who have porked the bill with a host of ideologically inspired non-medical provisions, including requirements for "diversity" in medical hiring and the creation of a Big Brother bureaucracy for "Twinkie Control."
. . . Finally — and what a "finally" it is!
Politicians who just four days before the people of Massachusetts go to the polls, gave the ugly, vulgar, political finger to every decent, honest American by exempting union members only from paying an onerous tax on high coverage health insurance policies.
Regarding the insanity briefly and very incompletely described above, the hope here is that on Tuesday the people of Massachusetts will remember their heritage and vote in a way that honors Buttrick's 1775 cry of "Fire! for God's sake fire!" as well as Emerson's song of praise, sung sixty-two years later for every patriot who "fired the shot heard round the world."
© A.J. DiCintio
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