Bush puts Republican principle over the American People (again)

The current fight over the SCHIP program which provides health insurance for children is a perfect example of how Republican Ideologues are tearing out the heart and soul of this nation. President Bush and "conservatives" will reject a bill coming out of Congress because it does not fit in with their grand theory that private business (in this case, those fine folks in the insurance industry) should be given preference over .. well ...just about anything (in this case those pesky kids that need to see a doctor). They believe that if kids have to go without health insurance it's their own fault for being born in a country that doesn't have the sense to elect Representatives that agree with the right wing view of how the world should be run. I simply don't understand how people hang on so tight to theories (which have a poor record of success anyway) and are willing to ignore the great harm it does to the most vulnerable people in the country. This controversy is only one example of how Republican politicians push through their grand theories while the citizens of this once great nation (and people around the world) fall victim to the defenseless actions of stubborn politicians. Oh yeah, thanks again to all the Red voters for eating up this rhetoric over the years and not being able to tell that talk radio, FOX news and Republican politicians are simple carrying water for big business and view the general population as pawns in their private game.

I also want to look at the health care debate from a very broad perspective. The big point is that the Republicans want Americans to have to struggle to buy health insurance because it gives employers power over the employee. Today, the top reason for people staying in a job that is otherwise unsatisfactory is that they need the insurance and cannot risk going without for even a short time. Employers know this and therefore they have no incentive to do much for their workers who are all but enslaved to them because of this. If individuals were free to switch jobs without fear of losing their health care, the workers would have the freedom to move to a better job or demand that employers provide better conditions. The larger debate therefore is really who should have the power - businesses or individuals (not government or individuals as the dishonest right wingers would like us to believe).