Not All Bad

Just to even the playing field of all of the anti-GOP chatter, I will admit Republicans aren't all bad. Its not like I think, "Democrats = good, Republicans = bad," although I better be careful because my parents read this blog. Yes, I was raised in a democratic household. Both of my parents are Democrats; my Mom does work for local groups, and my Dad gives money and supports leftist causes. When I asked my Mom as a kid once, "What is the worst thing I could ever do?" just so I knew, she responded with a curt, "Become a registered Republican."

My parents talked politics in our family, but not all of the time and not super in-depth. During the Clinton years, there was a lot of talk about health care, and how the Republican controlled Legislature of the early 1990s blocked the Clinton's plans. Since my Dad is an engineer at a hospital, he certainly is at the forefront of what is wrong with our nation's health care system. One of the problems with health insurance is that the company can decide not to cover something, really, if the company decides they don't want to. Also, health insurance companies are in business to make a profit, so there must be occasions where people at the company have to chose between saving money and saving lives. Meanwhile, government is a big problem with the current system. Hospitals are mandated to treat whoever walks through the ER doors, regardless of their ability to pay, yet the State of NJ reimburses the said hospital $0.25-$0.40 of every $1.00 the hospital spends treating the person. Charity care falls short in many lower income communities. Given that social security, medicare, and Medicaid are all bankrupt, it doesn't make sense to increase the health care responsibilities of the Federal gov't, and state gov'ts are also struggling in this area.

If there is something I want to most convey to Republicans, its that the Bush years were truly toxic to America. When Republican administrations do good things, like NYC during the Giuliani and Bloomberg admins, Democrats can acknowledge it and cheer on things/people that work. I am not against goodness when it comes from Republicans. I have said before that I think the first Bush did a great job mending relations with Russia after the fall of the Cold War. The foundation of the Republican party was once about small federal gov't and large state gov'ts. Contemporary America has many issues that should be settled on the state level: from abortion, medical marijuana, guns, gay marriage, etc. Given the large amount of debt the federal gov't has taken on over the past 8 years, perhaps it needs to be much smaller and more authority be left to the states.

Finally, the damage the Bush admin has done to this country is far and wide. I don't want to get started with specifics. I think all of us know the truth. The questions about Iraq aren't relevant, since keeping things going well here at home are just as important as doing a good job overseas. When the GOP talks change, I hope they are serious.