Booth Gardner and Initiative 1000 - Sad HMO Dupes???
[Front paged: NM]
I heard Booth Gardner and his merry band on the radio cheering their "victory" at having secured the signatures for Initiative 1000. It is bad law - poorly informed, short-sighted and the political tool of HMOs. But even if they can't see the ethical problems with it, the sponsors of this Initiative are intelligent Democrats of great political experience. Therefore, it should be patently obvious to them that the more signatures they got for it - the more popular it is - the more surely Initiative 1000 should be retracted and a bill from the legislature put in its place. Otherwise, it will be a bad law AND a political failure. Here's why:
First, many Progressives dislike the initiative process altogether. They feel that it is something that will inevitably be abused by the right wing. Although this has been the case in fact, I disagree that the initiative process is broken. I admit that the requirement an Initiative be single-issue tends to favor emotional issues over more comprehensive legislative approaches, but I support the concept of initiatives nonetheless - just not this one.
Initiative 1000 is a terrible idea in and of itself.
But even if they agree with the Initiative, the enormous demonstrated popularity of it should lead Progressives to conclude that it should be retracted. If the people of the state of Washington really disagree with me and really want "Death with Dignity" on a large, bipartisan basis, then the backers of 1000 should immediately sacrifice the Initiative and use it to push through a new healthcare bill. A strong, Democratic majority should easily be able to tie the language of this popular Initiative with other, positive healthcare legislation and create a "Healthcare With Dignity Act". Instead of a single-issue Initiative, surely these Democratic leaders would be willing to share their political capital and help pass something that will help more people than the dying who choose to take their own lives this way. Wouldn't that be a better idea? Booth Gardner is persuaded that this is important and he's been successful. But surely he'd be willing to use his success on this no-cost, single-issue Initiative that will be used by a very small number of people (only about 350 patients choosing euthanasia in Oregon after 10 years - very small pdf - and obviously no improvement in health outcomes) to push something - or the expansion and funding of existing programs - that would be used by large numbers of some of our state's equally-vulnerable or more-vulnerable populations. If securing a healthcare "right-to-die" is popular, can we agree that securing the healthcare rights of, for example, children and the mentally ill is more important? Isn't dying a pretty easy "right" to secure relative to the challenges faced by uninsured children and the mentally ill? Wouldn't a combination of expanding and funding this breakthrough law and, say, this fledgling initiative as well as giving doctors the freedom to prescribe lethal drugs to these nice elderly ladies, be more positive and useful for the citizens of Washington? [Sorry about the cute old ladies, but I just don't like this bill. At the same time, if "dignity by death" was combined with something really positive, I'd drop my protests in a minute.] Shouldn't Booth Gardner and the happy backers of Initiative 100 be willing to share and compromise in order to help more people? How about using the support for "Death with Dignity" to create "Mental Healthcare with Dignity" and insure "Childhood with Dignity"? How about "Pain Care with Dignity"? How about a bill that protects the elderly and terminally ill as well as offering them drugs to die with?
I appeal to the supporters of Initiative 1000 to table this legislation until it can be combined into a Washington Healthcare With Dignity Act! Wouldn't that be a real accomplishment compared with this ? [Again to supporter, I'm sorry about the above link, but I strongly believe that unless it is coupled with positive legislation, Initiative 1000 is worse than useless]
Booth Gardner and Initiative 1000 - Sad HMO Dupes??? | 31 comments (31 topical)
Booth Gardner and Initiative 1000 - Sad HMO Dupes??? | 31 comments (31 topical)
|
Recommended Diaries
Recent Diaries
In Case You're Not Paying Attention [Update 1]
By dlaw (2 comments)
Lies and Hollow Talk
By Daniel K (0 comments)
They wouldn't do that to help McCain ... would they?
By Arthur Ruger (0 comments)
Real Change is Bigger than the Election
By Washington CAN (0 comments)
JP Morgan To Buy WaMu???
By dlaw (0 comments)
On Closing the Deal, Or, Preaching Beyond The Choir
By fake consultant (13 comments)
Discovered! : The Secret Obama-Palin Letters.
By dlaw (0 comments)
You should vote Republican if ...
By Arthur Ruger (0 comments)
Can voting machines be safe with good election procedures?
By Fred (4 comments)
Palin Calls The Democrats Out.
By dlaw (3 comments)
Postman on Palin and Alaskan Politics
By Daniel K (1 comments)
King County Sat Out T2
By WA Spirit Matters (2 comments) Related Links+ this+ this [2] + only about 350 patients choosing euthanasia in Oregon after 10 years + uninsured children + mentally ill + this breakthrough law + this fledgling initiative + these nice elderly ladies + compared with this + dlaw's Diary Washblog RSS FeedsPolitical ContactsLocal MediaCoastal/Grays HarborAberdeen Daily World Chinook Observer Montesano Vidette Pacific County Press Willapa Harbor Herald KXRO 1320 AM Olympic Peninsula Peninsula Daily News Bremerton Sun Bremerton Chronicle Gig Harbor Gateway Port Orchard Independent Port Townsend Leader North Kitsap Herald Squim Gazette Central Kitsap Reporter Business Examiner KONP 1450 AM Sound and Islands Anacortes American Bainbridge Review Voice Of Bainbridge San Juan Journal The Islands' Sounder Whidbey NewsTimes South Whidbey Record Stanwood/Camano News Vashon Beachcomber Voice Of Vashon KLKI 1340 AM North Puget Sound Bellingham Herald The Northern Light Everett Herald Skagit Valley Herald Lynden Tribune The Enterprise Snohomish County Tribune Snohomish County Business Journal The Monroe Monitor The Edmonds Beacon KGMI 790 AM KELA 1470 AM KRKO 1380 AM Central Puget Sound King County Journal Issaquah Press Mukilteo Beacon Voice of the Valley Federal Way Mirror Bothell/Kenmore Reporter Kirkland courier Mercer Island Reporter Woodinville Weekly Greater Seattle Seattle PI Seattle Times KOMO TV 4 KIRO TV 7 KING 5 TV KTBW TV 22 KCTS 9 UW Daily The Stranger Seattle Weekly Capitol Hill Times Madison Park Times Seattle Journal of Commerce NW Asian Weekly West Seattle Herald North Seattle Herald-Outlook South Seattle Star Magnolia News Beacon Hill News KIRO 710 AM KOMO AM 1000 KEXP 90.3 FM KUOW 94.9 FM KVI 570 AM South Puget Sound The Columbian Longview Daily News Nisqually Valley News Lewis County News The Reflector Eatonville Dispatch Tacoma News Tribune Tacoma Weekly Puyallup Herald Enumclaw Courier-Herald The Olympian KAOS 89.3 FM KCPQ 13 KOWA FM 106.5 UPN 11 Cascade/Okanogan Ellensburg Daily Record Levenworth Echo Cle Elum Tribune Snoqualmie Valley Record Methow Valley News Lake Chelan Mirror Omak chronicle The Newport Miner Spokane/Palouse The Spokesman-Review KREM 2 TV Spokane KXLY News 4 Spokane KHQ 6 Spokane KSPS Spokane Statesman-Examiner Othello Outlook Cheney Free Press Camas PostRecord The South County sun White Salmon Enterprise Palouse Boomerang Columbia Basin Herald Grand Coulee Star Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Yakima Herald-Republic KIMA 29 Yakima KAPP TV 35 Yakima KYVE Yakima Wenatchee World Tri-City Herald TVEW TV 42 Tri-cities KTNW Richland KEPR 19 Pasco Daily Sun News Prosser Record-Bulletin KTCR 1340 AM KWSU Pullman Moscow-Pullman Daily News |