I believe that moving Vermont to a single payer system of health care will save us money, make us a better state and will improve the affordability that our businesses and individuals are faced with… It’s clear that on any issue there was a very clear message to this governor to listen, learn, reflect; be more inclusive. It was humbling. And on every issue I am taking that approach” — Governor Peter Shumlin at his first press conference after the election.
The postmortem of the election has been almost as amusing as all the misleading campaign ads we had to endure. Thankfully we’re not in one of those places where there will be a runoff election. According to the reports in the media, the campaign ads were only off the air for a day or so and now they’re back in their full glory. Here in Vermont we can move on and try to interpret what it all meant. Hey, it’s a nasty job, but that’s what a political columnist gets paid the big money to do.
First off, when the turnout is as low as it has been in over 60 years; whatever went on is outside of our ability to draw meaningful conclusions. This is new territory. The last time turnout was this low there was a real excuse: Most of the adult male population were off fighting the former axis of evil and now our good buddies in Europe and the Pacific.
The voter apathy in this last election was unprecedented, and when such a small fraction of the population weighs in, or there are so few contested races, political columnists should be honest and just say it’s an anomaly.
Before we all start reading the tea leaves looking for answers from the election, perhaps it’s best to think about what it didn’t mean instead.
For example the Republicans ended up with some meager gains in the legislature and the race for governor was a lot tighter than anyone would have imagined. Yet according to Bruce Lisman of the Campaign for Vermont Prosperity, “We’ve just re-elected a government that has made bad ideas, bad management, and bad leadership seem ordinary. No whining here. The people voted to return many of them to office — but protested by withholding support for our Governor and reducing the ruling party’s majorities in the House and Senate. It’s a rebuke and a fair warning to those just elected. The Governor is wrong: we don’t want ‘bold’ leadership; we want competent leadership.” Wow, all that gleaned from the handful of voters that stepped up to be counted.
Perhaps the Republicans would like to spin this as all the proof that is needed to get the governor and the Democrats to back off from single payer healthcare. Maybe instead all that is needed is for the Dems and the administration to be a little more forthcoming as they move towards our bold experiment in a quality healthcare system that covers everyone in a way we can afford. It takes bold leadership to create systemic change. Yet, even some Democrats are looking to point to the election as a warning sign. Why is it that some of the most important decisions made in Montpelier are crafted in the glow of political posturing? I have no doubt that this last election could have been the forum for a productive debate on single payer. The behind closed doors plotting and scheming, the failed rollout of VT Health Connect, and the constant barrage of noise from Washington: It’s no wonder folks stayed home on Election Day.
We’re sick of it! However, we’ve been talking about healthcare reform for decades, yet, we seem to keep walking in circles. Finally we are moving forward, and considering healthcare for profit is a multi-trillion dollar per year business, some very powerful forces want to protect the status quo.
What happens next is nothing less than historic.
At this point no one is happy about our dysfunctional healthcare system. Ask anyone, and they’ll have some sort of horror story. Major surgeries that are treated practically as an outpatient procedure, insurance companies that take hours of phone calls before you can pry basic benefits from them, and perhaps the most shameful, why do we continue to lose our friends, neighbors and loved ones because of substandard care? We all had such high hopes for Obama ending for-profit healthcare, and instead we have created a free market free-for-all. Costs are not contained, millions of Americans still don’t have insurance, and the quality of the care is rapidly slipping into third world status.
Here in Vermont we can do better. We are headed in the right direction in making healthcare a basic human right. It will be considerably more affordable if we take the profit motive out of it, and there are so many doctors that will flock to Vermont to go back to practicing medicine instead of being lackeys for the insurance companies. Care will improve, costs will be controlled, and everyone will get care.
The battle lost up to this point is the public relations war. Vermonters need to know that we can get this right. Failures to this point were inevitable, but instead of dealing with them in an honest and forthcoming way, we were treated as if we’d never understand the complexities. That’s why people stayed home, that’s why some Dems are losing their resolve, and that’s why we need to demand better! No one said that changing the healthcare system would be easy; in fact, many say it can’t be done. Isn’t it high time we prove to the rest of the nation that when Vermonters put their minds to something nothing gets in our way?
Get it done Peter! Don’t turn back.
Contact Kurt Staudter at staudter@sover.net.