I'm Just Ticked

Ok, I’ll tell you from the start this post is going to be biased. I’m ticked.

In Massachusetts, the special election to fill Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat is on the line. We’ll know the outcome later tonight (maybe- it’s going to be close) and it will be the start of a whole new ballgame. Ironically, the outcome of health reform (Senator Kennedy’s passion) as well as the broader Democratic agenda that has been laid-out in front of us is also on the line.

Democrats are scrambling and planning for the worse, Republicans are lining-up to prepare their own strategy to put a halt to the direction the Democrats have been taking. While I am not a Massachusetts resident- I would hope our goal would be to focus on putting the right person in this leadership role- regardless of the political ramifications (and I know I’m dreaming here).

We’ve been critical of both the approach and structure of the health reform direction since the House put out its version last August. We’ve been more critical with the strategy and direction of both the Obama Administration and the Senate as they focused more on a Christmas Time-Line than doing what is right. And, we’re even more skeptical of all of the side deals that are being cut to move this thing through.

We have said all along that our health care system is in dire need of reform. The Republican approach (if there is one) is too light, and the Democratic approach is too heavy. Neither side is addressing the fundamental structural problems that need to be addressed immediately to prevent us from moving into what Jim Collins calls “Stage 5 Decline”- capitulation and death. The system we have today simply hurts too many, is too expensive, and has been built by patch-working various ideas together over the years.

Our Congressional leaders need to be leaders and not followers of the special interests and lobbyists. That’s what got us into this problem in the first place. They need to be knowledgeable of the real issues- especially when lives are on the line. And, they need to remember health care is not the only thing on the minds of the voters across this country.

Massachusetts Democratic candidate Martha Coakley commented on Monday that we should be planning an exit strategy for Afghanistan because “there are no more terrorists there”. She said they all left Afghanistan and went elsewhere. As a citizen whose son is heading to Afghanistan to battle the terrorists and reads the casualty listing on the DOD site daily, I was simply appalled.

If this is an example of the base-line knowledge of the people we want to be leading the country we are in a sorry state. It’s time we put people in place that can connect with the American people- and not put people in Washington to simply fulfill someone else’s political agenda. As Mark Twain said, “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your Government when it deserves it.” The Government doesn’t deserve it right now- for either party.

Republican, Scott Brown would get my vote on this one. And, Democrats have better start trying to figure it out how to deal with the fallout either way.