One Button Wonders
Health care is a complicated issue. Last Saturday, the House passed a version of health care reform that included, among other things, a public option, geting rid of the anti-anti-monopoly clause that protected insurance companies for decades, and so on. It's a start.
The thing is, it also passed with a sweeping ban on abortion funding, courtesy of one Bart Stupak from Michigan. As you might expect, this has set off a firestorm.
It's shameful that Stupak would jeopardize the bill. Michigan as a state is such a disaster, it surely has millions who would benefit from this reform. But alas, religious zealotry knows no bounds and Stupak has decided to hold all of us hostage just to pursue his beliefs. Wonderful.
Personally, I don't honestly care who wins this argument. I'm more concerned about the fate of the bill. Because now, you've got pro-choice politicians saying, "We won't vote for it with these provisions!" and you've got pro-life politicians yelling "We won't vote for it without these provisions!" Both groups miss the point in the middle of their blind arrogance. This bill is about so much more than a relatively asinine one-button issue that to treat it as such undermines how important it really is that we get it done.
The thing is, it also passed with a sweeping ban on abortion funding, courtesy of one Bart Stupak from Michigan. As you might expect, this has set off a firestorm.
It's shameful that Stupak would jeopardize the bill. Michigan as a state is such a disaster, it surely has millions who would benefit from this reform. But alas, religious zealotry knows no bounds and Stupak has decided to hold all of us hostage just to pursue his beliefs. Wonderful.
Personally, I don't honestly care who wins this argument. I'm more concerned about the fate of the bill. Because now, you've got pro-choice politicians saying, "We won't vote for it with these provisions!" and you've got pro-life politicians yelling "We won't vote for it without these provisions!" Both groups miss the point in the middle of their blind arrogance. This bill is about so much more than a relatively asinine one-button issue that to treat it as such undermines how important it really is that we get it done.