Inside Wants Out

So I stole the title of this entry. Sue me.

I have had this on my chest for a few days now and at work today it boiled over, so I need to vent. Off I go.

By the way, this entry is political in nature. If you don't want to hear it, look away.

I am a registered republican. I have been since I turned 18. After law school I will run for District Attorney as a Republican. Eventually I hope to be a Republican Senator for the great state of Florida. I am, suffice it to say, proud to be a Republican.
Lately I have been wondering why.

There's a bill on the Senate floor right now that most of you have probably not even heard about called S.1955 that seeks to readjust how your insurance company pays for your health care. Basically, if it doesn't involve seeing your primary care manager, it won't be covered. For example, no more ObGyn care, Chiropractic, most optical care, prenatal sonograms other than the one to determine the health of your child when mommy is near full term, no more diabetes supplies, no more asthma treatments (nebulizers), and the list goes on.

Thanks to the Marine Corps, I am not personally or directly affected by any of the above because of our free medical care system. (Call your local recruiter today!!! Just kidding) I am, however, preparing to sit back and watch as my fathers chiropractic practice that he has toiled through blood, sweat and tears, closes its doors. Yes, this is a worst case scenario. Yes, this is perhaps a bit over the edge. Maybe even a bit self-indulgent. The bottom line is legislation like this is irresponsible. That early detection stuff that saves hundreds or thousands of people a year is bordering on extinction.

So why is it being allowed to fly under the radar? While I obviously don't know for sure, it seems to make sense to me that the only way the media gets involved in a small Senate bill like this is if one side of the aisle or the other gets all up in arms over it. Why hasn't this happened with S.1955? Again, conjecture only here, but it seems pretty clear to me that a bill that unequivocally benefits (read: lines the pockets of) medical doctors is being blind-eyed by both parties, currently led my Sen. Bill Frist, (R, Tenn.) and the Chairman of the DNC, Howard Dean.

Both of whom are medical doctors.

So this is me, becoming cynical, bitter and jaded right as I type. I hope to throw my hat in the political ring one day to try and act out against bipartisan crap like this, but I learned today that the local Republican senator here in Texas is a co-sponsor of this bill, and the guy who introduced, wrote and sponsored the thing is a Republican. In the words of my father: how pathetic is it for me to be begging the likes of Ted Kennedy, Barack Obama and Dick Durbin to filibuster this thing? Normally I can scoff along with the Republican powers that be when the other guys get a little squirrelly and fire something off like this. Now I find myself shaking my head over the actions of the people I usually rely on to be the voice of reason.

Yeah, yeah. Woe is me. I get it. I talked about this with a co-worker who said maybe this is me figuring out I was never a Republican at all, and I'm slowly realizing it. The thing is, I don't identify with the party so much as I identify with their beliefs and values. If this is the start of a new philosophy- healthcare is centralized for the benefit of the American people, as long as the Americans you're talking about have M.D. after their name- count me out. I'd rather care deeply and be wrong than not care, and I feel a mean case of apathy setting in.

I know, I know. You waited months and months for me to post for this??? What did you expect, fart jokes and self-deprecating sarcasm? Pish Posh.

That's next week.