I was happy to see this LTTE in the Bend Bulletin, calling out Walden and the Bulletin on the SCHIP issue:
Not courageous
In a Sept. 30 editorial, Congressman Walden is praised by The Bulletin for his courage in voting against the bill reauthorizing and expanding SCHIP. Courage doesn't come to my mind for a vote denying additional health insurance coverage to the country's currently uninsured 8 million lower income children. Walden's "courage" is apparently based on his willingness to vote with the minority out of a concern over the additional cost of an expanded SCHIP ($35 billion) and the threat of substituting publicly subsidized insurance for private insurance. The concern about cost speaks more about priorities than courage when compared with the Republican administration's request for $190 billion to fund the 2008 war bill.
Further, voting against an attempt to improve access to health care through greater government involvement doesn't show courage. Rather, it demonstrates, at best, an indifference to securing adequate health care for everyone. Clearly, there are serious problems with our largely privatized health care system as evidenced by health costs nearly double that of every other industrialized country, while 47 million of our citizens don't have health insurance. Apparently, Walden and the editorial board agree with President Bush's statement: "I mean, people have access to health care in America. They can go to the emergency room." I don't call this position a courageous one. More like cruel and callous.
Man, we're reaching Gary Hart "Prove I'm a cheating sleazebag" territory here. Two more articles (one unfortunately behind the dratted subscriber firewall) have appeared in state media, as outlets continue to ask Gordon Smith (and now Greg Walden) about his actions and responses to the Klamath fish kill story.
The one I can't link to is from the Bend Bulletin, notoriously conservative among state media but covering what has now become serious news. In a piece published yesterday and headlined "Smith reverses course on salmon die-off," he tries to color previous remarks by fibbing further about what he said, while his spokesperson claims he's not reversing at all, and Democratic challenger Steve Novick nails exactly what he's doing. Check it out below the jump...
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