YOUR VIEWS

Open hearings

When it comes to the elderly and the most vulnerable in our society, do we care enough to discuss their future insurance coverage in an open forum? Republican senators have joined with Democrats renouncing a back-room deal; secrecy should not be the manner by which health coverage is repealed or replaced. Why wouldn’t we allow the necessary time to examine what is being proposed to ensure that it is a healthy step in the right direction?

What would Ike think?

In announcing his initial presidential bid, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, then in Europe establishing the NATO security structure, said of course a priority was defeating the Democratic ticket, but the first priority was denying the Republican nomination to Sen. Robert A. Taft. Taft, an oldschool isolationist, opposed the NATO treaty with its collective security rationale. The Republican convention in 1952 was incredibly close but Eisenhower and the idea of collective security prevailed. After more than 70 years of peace and prosperity in Europe and the world, it’s scary to see how close America came to Taft’s vision of an unending, unilateralist position as the world’s lone ranger. The present administration’s flirtation with just such a position makes me wonder, “What would Ike think?”

Delayed consequences

To accomplish his agenda on health care and “tax reform,” President Trump knew it would require large cuts to health care in order to give significant tax cuts to the wealthy. Trump called the House bill “mean” after celebrating its passage in the Rose Garden. Now he says the Senate bill should have more heart. He wants to achieve his campaign promises without being blamed for the negative consequences. Currently, the bill postpones some of the negative results for six years so that they will not be felt until after midterms and the next presidential election.

Focus on care

U.S. citizens don’t need cheaper health insurance. We need cheaper health care. The way to get cheaper health care is to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals graduating from schools. We accomplish this by helping all who intellectually qualify for health care professions. We help pay for their education. This will increase the number of doctors and nurses. It’s called supply and demand, which is part of capitalism. I believe the majority of Americans want capitalism, not socialism. Benefits for the elderly, veterans and disabled would not change, except the cost of their care would be less.

Get on with it

Democrats need to look in the mirror, when the accusations against this administration by Pelosi, Schumer, Warren, Sanders and others are exactly what the last administration did. Obamacare was hatched in secret and only saw the light a couple of days before the vote as a 1,000-plus page document. Obstruction of justice? When Hillary was ordered to turn over emails, she ordered the programs wiped and the computers destroyed. Collusion with Russia? Providing uranium and ignoring their aggression in other countries. Then there was Loretta Lynch’s and Bill Clinton’s attempted meeting in secret to protect Hillary from investigation. And President Obama’s violating the Constitution. The list goes on and on.

Let’s get past these ludicrous investigations and get on with the business of turning America around from the mess of the past eight years.