PROFILES IN COURAGE. Pts. 1-4

I am relieved.

Yes, I am relieved.

I don’t mind telling you.

…I am relieved.

The United States Senate voted tonight on the so-called ‘skinny’ bill to repeal (some of the stipulations of) Obamacare; (given they haven’t been able to repeal and replace ‘the whole ball of wax’).

Of course, the United States House of Representatives previously voted for, and passed their own version of a bill to rework this nation’s healthcare system.

It was all on the line tonight. And the majority party, the party which had promised it would ‘step up to the plate,’ and replace what they view as a failed system, failed in their attempt to do so.

The final vote?

49 ‘Aye.’

51 ‘No.’

49 members of the majority party voted ‘Aye.’

48 members of the minority party voted ‘No.’

And

(drum roll)

3 members of the majority party voted ‘No.’

(And the bill was rejected by one vote).

It might be helpful for you to know that during the course of the vote, I found myself on my proverbial knees in prayer.

Pt. 2

Did I say that I am relieved?

(I thought I did).

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the current plan, had it been passed as written, would have hiked the cost of personal insurance premiums by 20 percent, and would have deprived 16 million people of their medical coverage.

The tenor of the majority party plan to replace Obamacare included a significant overhaul of the system which dispenses Medicaid benefits to the poor, disabled, and residents of this country’s nursing homes. Rather than an ongoing expansion in the cooperative Federal/State program known as Medicaid, the fifty states would ultimately be required to supplement a greater percentage of the funding; something it was expected they would be increasingly unable to do.

I can imagine a large number of the majority party cast their votes based on party allegiance. And I expect many of these 49 senators might tell you or me,

“Well, it’s not personal.”

And in such a case, I would hypothetically respond,

“Well, it’s personal to me!”

For though I am registered with the majority party, my allegiance goes far beyond something so mundane.

For you see, as my mother entered her waning years, and incurred numerous serious diagnoses, she spent two years in a skilled nursing facility, and during that season depended heavily on Medicaid benefits to cover the overwhelming costs of her medical care.

And if that were not enough, I have a 45 year old mentally-ill, borderline retarded daughter whose name is ‘Mary.’ She has endured these maladies for a quarter of a century, and has lived in a group home for almost as long.

Mary is the recipient of both federal disability funding and Medicaid, and 99.9 percent of her room, board and medical costs have been covered to the tune of, by now, well over a million dollars. As her father, had I been required to entirely cover her expenses the past quarter century, by now, no doubt…I would be living in a tent under a tree.

Pt. 3

Before he was elected President of the United States, John F. Kennedy wrote a little volume entitled, “Profiles in Courage.”

Tonight, three senators of the majority party voted their conscience; (and in so doing dashed the expectations of their constituents to overturn Obamacare). I suppose, depending on one’s personal convictions of what is right for this country, these three individuals might be classified heretics or heroes.

Well, my friends, they’re heroes to me.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska

(and)

Senator John McCain of Arizona

And while I am exceedingly thankful for each one, allow me to make an example of the latter of the three; (and, in so doing, characterize the heroism of the entire group).

Senator John McCain is, in the colloquial connotation of the word, just plain ‘bad.’

As a Navy pilot during the Vietnam Conflict, he was shot down over North Vietnam, and, as a result, spent five years as a Prisoner of War. He was mercilessly beaten on a repetitive basis. Given his father was a Navy admiral, and for purposes of propaganda, McCain was offered the opportunity go home early. He refused. He personally identified with his fellow P.O.W.’s, and would not accept special treatment.

Elected as a congressman from Arizona in 1982, he went on to serve as a senator, and is one of the longest serving members of the U.S. Senate. Of course, we all recall his 2000 and 2008 bids for the presidency, and the time and efforts he expended to gain the White House.

And we also know ‘the rest of the story.’

Pt. 4

Speaking of “Profiles in Courage,” John McCain III is currently battling a highly aggressive form of brain cancer; one which is expected to take his life in the 12-15 months. Less than two weeks ago, he endured a major operation, and against the recommendations of his physicians, he ‘showed up’ for the up or down vote to send the Senate bill to the House of Representatives for reconciliation and final approval.

Wearing a long, jagged scar above his left eye, and a bruise beneath it, in the past couple of days Senator McCain made a rousing speech to the assembled Senate of the United States. In it, he decried partisanism and urged both parties to put aside their differences, and come together for the good of this great nation.

Tonight, he and his two female colleagues decimated any possibility that members of the majority party would overturn the healthcare plan created by our current president’s predecessor and the majority party at the time, and, in so doing, allowed a potential 16 million Americans to keep their present insurance coverage. More importantly to me, or at least more relevantly to me, the senators from Arizona, Maine and Alaska have assured my daughter, Mary, will maintain her much needed medical coverage.

McCain, Collins and Murkowski refused to approve a bill which was, literally, drafted on a napkin by the Senate Majority Leader, and on the day of the vote. These three will pay a price for their seeming disloyalty to their political party, but each and every one of them counted the cost, and considered their conscience and constituents more dear than party allegiance.

They will be cajoled and derided by the majority members of their party, and the President of the United States, but ‘after the dust has settled,’ I believe history will treat them well.

Profiles in Courage, indeed.


William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary, Vol. 62. Copyright Pending.

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