Abstract: If you live in Massachusetts tomorrow, vote tomorrow and be sure it’s for Martha Coakley. Anne expounds on national political parties.
In case you hadn’t heard, tomorrow is election day in Massachusetts to fill the Senate seat vacated by the late Teddy Kennedy. The seat has been Democrat for as long as I’ve been alive, almost all of that time held by Teddy. My Republican family hated him but I didn’t, and was proud and pleased to have voted for him during my years in Boston. He was a good man and worked hard for the country and for the people of his state. His loss is huge, especially in this year of health care reform.
I know not everyone likes the plan coming out of the Senate (my family certainly doesn’t). It’s not perfect by a long shot but with so many people without any health care at all, it’s important. The Kennedy vote matters if this is going to pass, even if Kennedy isn’t the one to cast it this time.
So the election tomorrow is crucial. I completely support Martha Coakley for the position and wish I still lived in Massachusetts so I could vote for her. Her opponent doesn’t pay health care costs for his current employees and has vowed to be the 41st vote against the health care bill if elected and sworn in by the time it comes to a vote.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not an “everything must be the Democrat way or the world will come to an end.” Yes, I am a political liberal. But I’m also a realist and watching the Congress just tires me out and makes me want to clean house of both parties. All they do is wrangle for votes and do their best to make the other party fail or at least be ineffective. Votes are stalled. Nominees are held up for months or longer, leaving key positions vacant rather than let the government and judiciary run efficiently. Both parties are wrong for doing this; they don’t help anything except making themselves look strong and purposeful even when they really look stupid.
I want health care to pass and move to the implementation stage so the Congress can actually pay attention to some of the other huge issues facing our country, including how to create jobs, fight two wars, provide long-term aid to quake devastated Haiti, and a thousand and one other things. I don’t expect it will happen. The Republicans want Obama to fail and the Democrats to be swept out in the mid-term elections. The Democrats want to save themselves their seats and to try and do as much as they can before the Republicans take over again.
Just think of what we could accomplish if the parties actually worked together instead.
Random Thoughts of a Disordered Mind 
I was thinking about you on this very thing this morning! How funny is that?
I just finished reading an article in the NYT about a 7 year old who had a stroke. His family said that the figures to rehab him were easily in the six figures and they were lucky — they had insurance. But the writer worried about other kids who may have had a stroke and didn’t know it and how they would fare.
Add to that my watching Dr. Gupta from CNN in Haiti working on a 15-day baby — it’s a reminder that we are fortunate and we should try and help others in our community. I hope it works out for Mass./health care today.