This morning I was furious to hear NPR spout out how Democrats had
blocked two Medicare Malpractice bills (please excuse the link - I couldn't find it anywhere else).
This made me furious, because I know that although Malpractice reform is needed, it should go hand in hand with medical insurance reforms. But that is not the message I heard from the Democrats on this one.
Instead we get this:
Democrats have dismissed the bills as a boon to the insurance industry and an election-year effort by majority Republicans struggling against low poll numbers to maintain control of Congress. They said other bills, such as federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, should be brought up during the GOP's "health week."
"I guess we're going to have bills that excite the political base," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.
How did NPR describe this response? Predictably they quoted Democrats as saying (as I recall) "Republicans are playing politics and catering to their base".
DAMN IT!!
I just got into a debate with my co-workers concerning healthcare reforms and the one thing we all agreed on was that malpractice reform was needed.
Can we please not plaster our party with the "We Support Lawyers" label? That's not going to win any votes.
Lets keep the responses supportive of malpractice reform, but only in a way that insures that doctors insurance rates will be reduced and medical licenses will be revoked for bad doctors?
Am I missing something here? Mr. Harkin, the old "playing politics" quote is a non-reponse that looks like the Democrats are seeking a fig leaf to hide some ugly truth.