Trying to figure it out

To the editor:
I’ve been trying for several days to figure out how to begin this note in such a way as not to make readers instantly angry before finishing even the first sentence, or perhaps to find them turning to the sports pages, or to the want-ads. I didn’t come up with anything, so I’ll just dive right in here and see if I can make any sense at all out of some of our current political issues.
First, I’d like to mention the recent “Values Voters Summit” and a comment there by Hoosier Republican Mike Pence. Pence said, to a huge ovation, “Republicans will not rest until we have repealed their (Democrats and Independents) government take-over of healthcare, lock stock and barrel.”
OK, let’s see what we’ll be repealing. According to Dr. Ruth Cohen writing in the August issue of AARP magazine, the world’s largest circulation at 47 million, “The changes at this point do not affect the personal relationships between patients and their doctors. Patients can see their same doctors as before, doctors will continue to refer them for tests and to specialists as before, and patients can still get their prescriptions at their local pharmacy or through mail-order.”
The writers go on to state that those elderly who don’t have health coverage now because of pre-existing conditions or economic hardship will be able to see a doctor when needed without fear of paying exorbitant costs for routine medical care.  “The new law bans private insurers from dropping people who get sick, from turning away those who have pre-existing conditions, and from setting life-time caps on benefits. It also provides subsidies for low income Americans so they can purchase private health insurance.”  
So Pence and the Republicans want the companies to be able to drop you if get sick, to be able to refuse you coverage because your illness was “pre-existing,” or to drop you because your care was costing too much. Why, sure, THAT makes good sense, especially since Pence is powerful and wealthy and already enjoys the best medical care and insurance in the world, paid for by us tax-payers.
Ask yourself: “Why would the healthcare and insurance industries have spent millions upon millions upon millions to defeat health care reform?” Is it because they want it to be cheaper for John Q. Public?
I very much believe that most things which appear to be simple and to need only a “common sense” solution probably aren’t really so simple. That said, another issue that seems very dangerous to me is the Supreme Court ruling last winter in “Citizens United” which effectively states that a corporation is the same as a person. That seems a real stretch to me, but if a person can vote or give money to a candidate or political party, or run for office, then a corporation can, also. There is really no effective way to keep foreign money out of our elections since countless foreign corporations operate in the U.S.
Further, I recently heard that at least 40 percent of the money spent in our elections comes from the banking/financial lobbies, and that amounted to $475 million from the financial lobby in the 2008 election cycle. How would any self-financed or small donor financed political hopeful stand up to that?
Remember Texas Congressman Joe Barton, who this summer fell all over himself apologizing to BP executives for the nasty folks in the hearings who were asking tough questions? If the House goes Republican November 2, Barton will be back in his old job as head of the House Energy committee. Will he work for us, do you think, or for the oil giants? I believe I am accurate in saying that Barton gets more oil industry money than anyone else in Congress.
And one more comment. Think about the U.S. Senate campaign run by Sheriff Brad Ellsworth after 25 years in law enforcement and his endorsement by the NRA. He is opposing Dan Coats, long-time Washington insider and big-time lobbyist, who was filmed telling a North Carolina audience in 2008 he was going to “bid the good people of Indiana good-bye” and move to nicer weather.  Hmmm ... Just wondering.
Glen Priest
Portland
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