My letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I am writing, and I know this is a little late, but I am writing to ask for a small gift. That gift would be Senator Harry Reid stripping Joe Lieberman of his Chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. I know it is not nice to ask for something to be taken away from someone during this holiday season, but I think the time has come. I know what you’re thinking Santa, we need Joe on our side, and letting him have the Chairmanship keeps him in our good graces, but I ask you, is he the kind of friend we want? He campaigned for McCain, he is toying with running as a Republican for re-elections, and he has vowed to vote against a public option.

Sen. Lieberman has been very good to his friends though. Aetna, has contributed over $91,000 to Lieberman. This past September he was interview by a news agency and stated his support of expanding Medicare, but is now against it? Instead he favors “a centrally financed system of private health insurance options”. I wonder if his friends over at Aetna had anything to do with that change of heart?

Sen. Lieberman has stated that he is prepared to live with his opposition to publicly funded insurance, convinced, he said, that it would increase taxes.

Doesn’t this seem like a Republican point of view? I know personally, I am prepared to live with an increase in the taxes I pay if it means as a country, we can allow everyone access to insurance coverage. If I have to skip out on a couple of martinis in exchange for a public insurance option for all, so be it. During the past two years one out of three Americans under the age of 65 were without health insurance. How is that?

If more Americans have health insurance, and thus access to a primary healthcare provider, the costs of providing care will go down. As it stands now, those without insurance will end up going to seek care in Emergency Departments. This is the most expensive venue to provide care in. The costs for providing care to these people in the ED are often times not recouped by the hospitals. In order for the hospitals to make up for that loss, they then charge those persons with insurance more for their care in order to cover their losses. So, in the end aren’t we paying for it already? It is time for change, and it is time for us to get those who are against change out of office.

So, in closing Santa, if you can grant me this one wish, I think we can begin to lessen Sen. Lieberman’s influence, and give us a better chance of getting a Democrat into his seat. Maybe then we will see some real reform to our healthcare system.

Sincerely,

Gabe Kearney