Our leges are still having a problem understanding what is their job.
On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, was on the statewide Moon Griffon Radio Show. Tucker also was on the show Wednesday. Tucker was talking about the bad vote he and other leges had made on House Bill No. 1028. The bill would require the taxpayers to pay a MINIMUM of 75% of the health care insurance certain leges elected after 1995 for the REST OF THEIR LIVES.
Tucker admitted that he made a bad vote and was asking Governor Blanco to veto the bill. He should have stopped there. He didn’t. He continued on trying to rationalize his bad vote and exposed exactly why the public is in such an uproar over this matter.
Tucker said that his job as co-chairman of the Republican Legislative Delegation is to find Republican candidates to run for the lege. One of the difficulties he found in recruiting candidates was that the individuals he talked to were having a problem finding affordable health insurance. This helped to explain why, yesterday, when Tucker initially explained his bad vote, he said it was a needed perk to get good people to run for the lege. That argument is so transparent that Little Stevie Wonder can see through it.
Obviously, Tucker doesn’t understand that even those of us with health care insurance find it difficult to afford it. However, as middle class, working people, neither can we afford not to have the insurance. Instead of proposing legislation to fix the problem for all of us, Tucker rationalizes the needed to make a special law only for leges; at the expense of the very same taxpayers who cannot afford the current price of health insurance. What makes affordable health insurance more important for elected officials (public servants) than the people they supposedly serve.
Tucker’s rationale reminds me of the actions of another of his Republican colleagues. Rep. “Tank” Powell voted for billions of taxes on us mullets. Then he turned around and requested a tax break in order to build a hotel. If Powell had been the least concerned about his constituents, he would have tried to lower our taxes rather than get a special tax break for himself.
Rep. Tucker obviously has not studied the Law of Holes which says once one finds oneself in a hole, stop digging.
Finally, the only way out now for Tucker and others who fear that this vote will come back, rightfully so, haunt them when they run for reelection next year is to make sure that the governor vetoes the bill. A simple letter to the governor (which Tucker sent) is not going to accomplish that. The way to get HB 1028 votoed is for the leges to ask the author of the bill, Rep. Hoppy Hopkins, D-Oil City, to request the governor to veto his bill. Anything less is just an effort at C.Y.A. and to fool the public.
C.B.
Uncategorized
CB
8:00 am
