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McCook Gazette
Letter to the Editor

Missing his chance for a place in history

Monday, December 21, 2009
Allen D. Strunk

McCook's native son is missing his chance to serve this nation and go down in history as an outstanding statesman by not standing firm against the Obama-Reid-Pelosi crowd on the health care issue.

He has said he will go along and become the last vote needed to this highly questionable bill written largely behind closed doors with some 2,000 pages of technicality that places the federal government in the middle of health care at an expense of an estimated $871 billion over the next decade. Besides protecting the insurance industry and gaining anti-abortion support, his partial "pay back" provides Nebraska with a "bonus" toward the state's share of the added Medicaid cost. The bill has the federal government permanently paying 100 percent of the cost of the expanded coverage in Nebraska while other states will pay, according to news reports.

Harry Reid, senate majority leader, has been quoted as saying "If you read the bill, you will find a number of states treated differently from other states. That's what legislation is about. It's called compromise."

In our book we don't call it "compromise" we call it simply government at its worst. It is unfair and wrong as it is in giving Louisiana $300 million for that vote. Whatever happened to the theory that the primary responsibility of the House of Representatives was state interest while the primary interest of the Senate was the nation at large?

Health care in America can stand improvement. Encouraging health insurance companies to compete nationwide and limiting the liability of medical personnel so extra tests and procedures would not be done simply to "protect" the profession would go a long way in improving the situation. More medical facilities and personnel would also help.

But putting the federal government in charge is going to be the most costly and least efficient approach.

Sen. Ben Nelson stood at the door of making the right decision for the benefit of all Americans. He is loved and respected in his hometown which is renaming its airport in his honor as well as preserving his boyhood home and planning a statue to further honor him. He is loved in McCook but passed up a chance to extend that respect and honor nationwide.

-- Strunk is former publisher of the McCook Daily Gazette.

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  • well said, well said!

    -- Posted by remington81 on Mon, Dec 21, 2009, at 4:19 PM

  • I must sadly agree. Well said, Mr. Strunk.

    I am now relegated to praying that we Conservatives are wrong, and the Liberals are right, for if they are wrong, I doubt our National ability to survive this overall spending spree, when the Health System program is included.

    They couldn't even leave the Defense budget alone, as I understand. Another $18 Billion to the largest Pork Farm in the world.

    We need a new, third party, one motivated by Honor, and Honesty; not 'Billy-Beer Bartering.'

    Senator Nelson, you do Err.

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Mon, Dec 21, 2009, at 8:14 PM

  • Guess it is a matter of which side of this mess you are sitting on. The many millions of Americans without health benefits might just look at it at a different angle than you do Mr. Strunk. And Mr. Navy, if you're retired military, you have decent health benefits, called Tricare.

    -- Posted by goarmy67 on Mon, Dec 21, 2009, at 10:51 PM
  • *

    Benedict Nelson has just proven that he will sell out anything for a price. Looking from the other side of the fence it appears he is more like a prostitute than a man of integrity. The money he got for Nebraska that has a lot of Nebraskans howling with glee will turn out to be a mere pittance to what the long term costs will be in other areas.

    I remember when they named the airport after him someone said they had better wait until he was out of office. Maybe that person knew more about Benedict Nelson than the rest of us. Meanwhile, we will just refer to his Senate deal as the Husker kickback.

    -- Posted by ksfarmer on Tue, Dec 22, 2009, at 10:01 PM

  • Money, Greed and trying to buy their way into the famous History book.

    Seems this has happened many times in McCook,Nebraska. All of this gets in their way of thinking and how they got where they are.

    They forget how they made the money, then want too make just a little more and get a little greedy and want to become famous and have everything named after them like several succesful honest politicians have in the past.

    But they seem to forget what has happened and everything comes out in the end.

    Is Ben Nelson really loved and respected in McCook??????

    This isnt the first time this has happened in McCook and I'm sure it wont be the last!!!!

    -- Posted by Just a reader on Thu, Dec 24, 2009, at 7:33 AM

  • I heard once that a person wrote a book titled "DON'T PEE ON MY LEG AND TELL ME IT IS RAINING", seems like this could be applied to Benny Nelly. Gazette should run a poll to really see how many people like him in comparison to the airport namers, statue erectors and house savers. Nice article Allen, keep it up. Maybe if Benny Nelly reads any of these editorials or comments he might then understand why people feel the way they do.

    -- Posted by geewhiz on Thu, Dec 24, 2009, at 10:32 AM

  • Mr. Strunk one point of fact the only reason insurance companies are not "encouraged" to compete is because they are not allowed to by the gubment. There are thousands of Insurance cmpanies but in nebraska there are only a few that can sell insurance here. Competition is simple get rid of insane laws that will not allow it and get out of the way. That would do more to cut costs and foster competition than ten million pages of reform thought up by the socialists in Washigton.

    The other point is without tort reform, the healtcare bill is meaninglesss. But as a wholly owned subsidiary of the trial lawyers the Demorats will never pass any kind of meaningful tort reform.

    I wonder if the next round is going to be the "right" to have your car insurance repair you car when it breaks down and pays for your gas. After all driving is a right isn't it?

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Sun, Dec 27, 2009, at 10:04 AM
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