Reinhart's Slash-and-Burn Attack

During every campaign, we often hear about how the candidates are going to do “this, that and the other thing about something.” Often that 'something' is an issue that is important for the moment: the economy, national defense and the war on terror, or healthcare. Sometimes, the issues are important to specific groups: the environment, homelessness, or hunger. We then vote for candidates who best meet our individual desires in addressing those issues for the country's future.
I do not wish to belabor the point that we often vote for change, but we then wonder why we are still faced with many of the issues we thought would be addressed by Washington or Salem. Government programs have been fighting poverty for many decades, and yet poverty still exists. I remember hearing about how, “Johnny can't read” back when I was in high school. More than 30 years later, illiteracy is still a major social issue. Is it because government programs have failed to address those issues that are important, or is it that government can only do so much?

My tears were large reading Bruce (Miller's) account of poor Colorado Springs. The voters said “No” to more taxes and told the city to live within its means – what a novel concept.

It was a gut-wrenching experience the moment health care reform became doomed with the special election in Massachusetts. A democratically elected President of far too much personal integrity was asked to do what the GOP would not hesitate to do in his position – use the last remaining days of party majority to advance a controversial political agenda, in this case health- care reform. This writer knows far too well the consequences of the outcome; I've been living for several years with major health issues that are excluded under current law as pre-existing conditions. I had been waiting, hoping, praying for reform to come into effect so that I might be able to seek out the health care I desperately need and cannot afford.