Today, at the University of Texas at Arlington, the AARP hosted an event on the subject of health care in Texas. Special guests included gubernatorial candidates Chris Bell (D), Kinky Friedman (I), and Carol Strayhorn (I). Each candidate talked for roughly fifteen minutes, and then answered selected questions asked by a representative of the AARP. Unfortunately, with a paper to write, I was only able to hear Chris Bell and Kinky Friedman talk, so forgive me if this is unsatisfying; if you really want to get down and dirty, you can visit the AARP's "dontvote.com".
Issues
In recent years, health care has become more and more costly. The
United States, for instance, spends twice as much nationally on health care as the next nation down the list (kind of like our defense budget) but leads industrialized nations in negative indicators such as
infant mortality. Before the recent
bankruptcy bill was passed by congress, fifty percent of all bankruptcies filed were caused by medical bills (the bill currently in effect makes it far more difficult to declare bankruptcy, with no exceptions for people citing medical bills). Since 2001, over six million people across the nation have lost health insurance. Drug prices are through the roof, and the
FDA preventing importation of those
dangerous Canadian drugs isn't helping. Texas in particular has suffered from the numerous issues wrapped up with health care; Texas is fiftieth in the nation in terms of quality and quantity of health care. Even
illegal immigration has contributed to the problem, as many Texas hospitals have closed down because treating everyone who needed it was too expensive. Dallas area Parkland Hospital, wher
JFK was taken after he was shot, estimates that treating illegal immigrants costs roughly fifty million dollars per year. Solutions are in high demand, but low on supply.
Candidates
Chris Bell spoke for ten minutes. His delivery was clear and practiced, and he got his points across well, deftly weaving in criticism of his opponents (mostly Rick Perry and Carol Strayhorn, who he describes as two sleeves on the same empty suit
). Whether his political skills are a positive element is left as an exercise for the voter. Opening with an anecdote/joke about going into Mexico and finding a virtual medical supermarket just across the border from Rio Grande City (this reminded me greatly of the node one stop shopping: is Chris Bell an E2 user?), he highlighted america's increasing flight across the borders to find affordable health care. He came out quickly with the statement that he wants to lead Texas towards Universal health care, citing the increasing number of people without health care under governor Rick Perry's Reign of Error.
He says that he wants to appoint an insurance watch dog
to ensure that companies look after consumer's needs in a better fashion. He came out strongly in favor of stem cell research, even saying that Texas should be a national leader in the field. He also said that every child should be receiving all proper vaccinations, although that was really just a vehicle for saying that he supports giving children the new HPV vaccine that fights one of the main viruses that causes cervical cancer. To fund these proposals, he says the state should be enforcing and expanding business taxes (only 1 in 16 Texas businesses pay the franchise tax
) and opening up Texas to casino gambling.
Knky Friedman came out on stage in a cowboy hat, a black jacket, jeans, and a cigar in his mouth. By audience reaction, he seemed far more popular, although my perception of the whole may have been limited by the five people screaming and applauding in the row directly behind me (I had grabbed a front row seat). His speech was less focussed and practiced than Chris Bell's; he didn't know what to do with his hands (opening a bottle of coke wihout taking a drink), and he didn't get into his speech for about thirty seconds or so because of various distractions. It was also clear he doesn't give speeches often: he talked much the way ordinary people would talk, not as one would expect someone who was reading a prepared speech to talk. He opened with a story about a dream he claims had: In it, governor Rick Perry dies (to much approval in the audience) and is given a choice between heaven and hell. Going to hell, he sees all of his lobbyist friends playing golf and having a good time. Going to heaven the next day, he is rather bored. He chooses hell, and is surprised at what he finds: his pals are all wearing rags and picking up trash. Asking the devil what happened, the devil says Oh, we were campaigning yesterday. Today, you voted.
His speech continued for fifteen minutes, although he said less than Chris Bell in that time. He supports not Universal health care or Socialized Medicine but what he called managed health care,
which would be similar to Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura's plan, which made Minnesota number one in the U.S. in health care and which he believes would work well for Texas. He said that teachers would be on easy street
under him, receiving all the health care they needed, because allowing casino gambling in Texas would bring in roughly six billion dollars per year (he went on a fact finding mission
to Las Vegas a few weeks prior to this), paying for any expenses that would ever arise. He also spoke about how he would put more National Guard troops on the border with Texas, saying that the troops there now are hanging about like FEMA officials
without the power to arrest. His responses to questions were far more direct than Chris Bell's — i.e. Yes, I would support that
— although that may indicate that he didn't really know as much offhand as Chris Bell. Despite all of that, before I left a group of women with strong Texas accents were discussing the candidates seemed to be in consensus about their support for Kinky. One said I'm not voting for anyone who's held office before. The house, and the senate, they're just the most rotten group of people out there.
If Kinky wins, and it's looking like an increasing possibility, it may have national implications. Whichever party wins the congress this year, the Tastycrats and the Fingerlicans are going to have a fire under their asses to really do something in the coming years.
Again, you lonestars (and anyone around the country seeking information about their own elections) will wish to visit dontvote.com, which features stories about the race and links to the candidates' websites, for more in depth information.