We, the PEOPLE!!

As most of you already know, the twenty-second amendment to the US Constitution prohibits a president from running for a third term of office. You can read the amendment HERE.

Many folks believe that electing John McCain, the presumptive republican candidate for president of the US, would be akin to a third Bush term. While it is fair to believe that McCain is an honorable man, he gave a speech yesterday (April 15^th, 2008) at Carnegie Mellon University that truly raises the question about whether the republicans have learned anything from the failures of the last seven and a half years of the Bush Administration.

It is no secret that “We, the PEOPLE!!” favors a universal health care system. Adequately funded and correctly implemented, such a system would enhance longevity while reducing costs through wellness programs and the elimination of “middle-man” private profit-motivated insurance companies who tell patients which prescription drugs they can take, and which they can’t.

A few years ago, America took a very cautious step forward in passing legislation known as “Medicare Part ‘D’”. This plan, although inadequate, at least was a starting point for senior citizens to begin being able to buy affordable prescription drugs through private insurance companies.

The “Medicare Part ‘D”” plan is horribly flawed, in that private for-profit insurance companies are administering the program, with subsidies from the US government, which by law is NOT PERMITTED to negotiate for the lowest possible drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies.

Interestingly, the Canadian government IS permitted to do so. This explains all of the offers anyone with email receives every day for Canadian-government-negotiated cheap drugs from Canada. And by the way, these drugs, for the most part, are imported into Canada from the American pharmaceutical industry. But that’s another story.

Enter McCain, who has proposed to limit and restrict Medicare Part D to only the poorest Americans. You can watch this HERE. The problem, of course, is that he doesn’t define who the poorest Americans are, or where the personal income line would be drawn. But if history is any teacher, it would probably be similar to the line drawn for folks who either qualify or not qualify for Medicaid, the government’s health care system which is only available in the US for the very poorest senior citizens.

If Medicare Part D matches the Medicaid income requirements, then only the poorest Senior citizens will qualify for it, effectively forcing millions of other seniors to pay full price to the pharmaceutical companies for their necessary medications. In other words, a further move AWAY from universal health care, which the Bush administration believes is the devil incarnate.

After all, Bush vetoed bills TWICE that would have continued the SCHIP program (State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which you can read about HERE), claiming that it would move health care in the US in the wrong direction, namely, toward universal health care and away from privately funded, profit-motivated, expensive private health care insurance, administered by the companies who profit from dictating your health care needs to you.

But back to the original subject: Medicare Part D. John McCain (McSame?) wants to roll back some of its eligibility, making sure that the pharmaceutical companies can sell their drugs to uncovered senior citizens at US (vs. Canada) retail price, enhancing their profits. Effectively, this moves away from universal health care, continuing a tenet of the Bush Syndicate. When one couples this with McCain’s (McBush’s?) embracing of making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent (when he originally opposed these cuts), one is left with the conclusion that McCain, by any name, represents more of the same: Bush’s policies.

If you are one of the 28% of Americans who still approves of the Bush presidency and its policies, then you have reason to be encouraged and cheered if McCain wins the presidency.

But if you’re one of the 65% to 70% of Americans who believe the Bush Administration has been nothing short of a disaster…then you have reason to be EXTREMELY concerned with a possible McCain victory in November.

And therefore, you have reason to support the democratic candidate of your choice, starting right now, and ultimately the democratic nominee for president.

To do any less could cost you dearly when you need help the most.

Think about that.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 12:59 pm and is filed under The State of Our Country. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.