Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson are vying to be the Republican candidate to get trounced by Democratic candidate Tom Udall in the contest to replace vacating Republican Senator Pete Dominici.
In a new ad Steve Pearce appeals to his conservative base by accentuating his conservative bona fides, including opposing a "disastrous socialized medicine scheme."
Here's my rant:
Call me crazy, but I believe that the child of a janitor has the same right to quality health care as the child of a CEO (or of a Congressman.)
I think (hope) that this ad illustrates a big problem for conservatives like Pearce in November. Linking Universal Health Insurance to Socialism is just not a story that the public is willing to buy anymore. I don't see how denying healthcare to anyone is any kind of value, conservative or otherwise.
This is one of the fights I am optimistic about for progressives this year. If John McCain and other free-market minded conservatives want to argue that the market can deliver healthcare to everyone, I have but one question to ask them: Why hasn't it?