Senator Kerry's Town Hall in Somerville, MA

The only living Senator in Massachusetts spoke last night at a town hall meeting in Somerville. The lines were long, but expected. Of course this was not a town hall like many others we have seen on the news of late, after all this was Somerville! Following Cambridge, the crowds couldn't get much more friendly for a left-winged politician.

The Senator asked the crowd during his speech:

"What do we know about the system in America that works for us? Makes us healthier, treats us well, allows us choice, gives us freedom, all the things we appreciate. And how do we take those things and work them into a system that also becomes more efficient." http://tinyurl.com/nfne79

Well, Senator, for starters don't let the government become involved in running the system. Do you really believe a government provided health care system would "allow us choice" or become "more efficient" than the system we already have? If you do, then you have your head buried in the sand.

When has the government ever run anything "efficiently?" The one thing the government does do well is run the military, that I will concede needs to remain in the public sector. Other than that, what our track record? Social Security? Medicare? And as for "allow(ing) us choice" in this mythical system, you obviously haven't spent much time talking to Veterans who use the VA as their health care providers, have you?! There is no such thing as choice in the VA system and I doubt this program will provide for much of any either. The VA buys specific drugs for particular ailments, too bad if those drugs don't work for you because that's all they have. In addition, if you want a particular procedure for an illness/injury you have, but it isn't authorized until you try the other cheaper procedures first (sometimes more than once), it's too bad for you! You get what they serve, no if's, and's, or but's allowed!

To add to the absurdity of the night, Rep. Michael Capuano showed up to give his two cents:

"Every person in Massachusetts wants to do everything we can to make sure every single American has a decent, affordable health care plan." http://tinyurl.com/m2c7gx

Really? Who have you asked, Representative? I live in your district and I sure as hell don't want to make sure everyone in America has health care. Why don't you talk to some real Massachusetts people, maybe outside your closed little universe before you speak for the entire state.  

That's really the big issue here in the health care debate. It's the politicians who are so out of touch with the people they represent, they don't even listen to their own people. When is the last time you saw Senator Kerry sitting down in a barber's chair shooting the breeze with his constituents? What about Rep. Capuano, when is the last time you saw him in East Cambridge grabbing a sub at a local pizza shop? You probably haven't, and I know I haven't (even though Rep. Capuano's office is in the Cambridge Side Galleria, right down the street from countless numbers of struggling small business owners).

I have sat down at these barbershops, the local bars and coffee shops, and I was surprised what I heard. I didn't hear the sediment that I read in the Boston Globe or aired repeatedly on CNN, actually I heard quite the opposite. The people I talked to are not lawyers, or doctors, or college professors, or otherwise well-to-do. They are working people, the backbone of the American society. People who work hard for what they have and are proud of their accomplishments. Sure everyone would love to hit it big, but that just isn't going to happen for most. These people, people lumped into the same Massachusetts that Rep. Capuano claims to speak for, are not beating the drum for health care reform. For the most part they don't even support the programs put forth as of yet by this administration. Before you speak at one of these things again, maybe ask the people of Massachusetts what they want instead of speculating.