A Republican is a person who is unable to make the leap from personal experience to the broader needs of others. So, Pete Domenici has been pretty good on mental health but only because of an up-close and personal experience:
Tragedy Fuels Mental Health Parity Bill
Before the 1980s, Domenici hadn't paid much attention to mental health care -- that is until his daughter, Clare, now 46, was diagnosed with atypical schizophrenia after her first year in college.
And suddenly, Senator Domenici is working with the likes of Ted Kennedy to pass bills on things like mental health parity. But don't expect him to use higher brain function when it comes to other health and disability issues.
Now we have the new improved Democratic Arlen Specter, but has he shed his Republican limitations?
Let's take a look:
Mr. Specter is very passionate about the funding for medical research, especially cancer research:
And one of the items that I'm working on, Bob, is funding for medical research. I've been the spear carrier to increase medical research. And I've even established a Web site, Specterforthecure.com, to try to get people to put more pressure on Congress to join me in getting more funding....
If we had pursued what President Nixon declared in 1970 as the war on cancer, we would have cured many strains. I think Jack Kemp would be alive today. And that research has saved or prolonged many lives, including mine.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
So far so good. But wait, when it comes to the health of more than 45 million uninsured Americans, Mr. Specter is unmoved. He is outspoken in his opposition to a public health coverage option that would lower insurance costs and ensure all Americans have access to coverage (but might lower the profits of the health insurance companies).
On Meet the Press, Mr. Specter stated that he would like to see all Americans covered, but here are the first things on his list of what is important to him in health care reform for the United States:
"I would like to see health care which emphasizes exercise and diet and makes premiums lower on that basis."
and
"I would like to see health care which had very tough prosecution against Medicaid and Medicare fraud, put people in jail..."
and he went on to talk about NIH research, advance directives to reduce the high cost of dying.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
While some of his ideas have merit, none of them addresses the real issue of making sure all Americans have comprehensive health coverage. Specter understands cancer, he understands personal health, and he understands prosecution -- he is personally experienced in all of these. But he doesn't understand what he himself has not personally experienced and like the Republicans he left behind, anything to which he lacks a personal connection is something that is unworthy of his attention or support.
Mr. Specter, still Republican after all these years.