Deliverence
"M" I know you played with my letter to the editor for only about 10 minutes yesterday, and now here it is for the world to see. Please check yours over, before we send it. I'll insert the changes, if any. Mine gets left on the cutting room floor. When you see this, call me on the house phone, I lost m
y phone charger. Number is in an email........(here it goes .....I'm hitting publish)p.s. and if this comes as a too much of a surprise ("M") I did exercise caution, as in the better part of valor- I did not use any pictures of Ned Beatty.*
If ever there were two differing styles of leadership, were they ever on display for all to see in Wednesdays paper; two prominent politicians, two articles, same page. First there is Chris Christie, pro-active, attempting to "alter" runaway state workers contracts. He’s severely hamstrung of course by a greedy union- never mind- the dismal condition the state is in. But even more to my liking, he admitted publicly he probably goofed and overstepped his authority, i.e, those pesky legally binding labor contracts. That's a good long haul strategy anyway, poking and prodding like he did, but by apologizing after-wards he also shows he's comfortable with himself. Nice try Gov., maybe you lost the battle, but you are going to win the war.
The second article? Frank LoBiondo, unimaginative and reactive. That article said LoBiondo "tells Millville
group he will vote against health bill. It's not the concept he'll vote
against, he said but the delivery." Yada, yada, I'm limited here
space wise, but to me it sounds like I've heard that song before Mr. LoBiondo.....sound
reasonable- but say nothing that could be construed as taking a strong
position one side or the other.
If I was lucky enough to be an influential Congressman with an R in
front of my
name like Frank LoBiondo, I'd be proactive. I'd say to my Democratic
colleagues across the aisle, "you guys want Single Payer Health- and you
see nothing wrong with putting an entire health insurance industry out
of business so that we- the public sector- can take over? That sounds popular????" Well if that's the case (I'm still speaking in Franks voice...) "it's fair
game then to expect us in Congress to propose to the Executive branch, whose the obsession behind this, to perhaps do away with
about 2 or 3 Cabinet level agencies. The
savings would only pay for a fraction of the Health Insurance initiative, but
it would be a great gesture; and prove what’s good for the the private
sector is good enough for the the Government too."
Frank, Republicans might then be inclined to budge a little and get a real discussion going on the merits of Universal Health Care. As a private citizen I would be thrilled (and I might have voted for you in 2010)..
Burt as Gary
Published in the March 20th issue of AC Press:
True leadership means having the vision and courage to see the big picture, forge ahead, stand firm in one’s conviction and also know when it’s time to fold. Then there are elected leaders who simply walk the walk, talk in vague sound bites and vote what’s popular for that minute. Readers of Wednesday, March 13 issue of the AC Press had the opportunity to witness these two different styles of leadership, both prominently displayed on the same page.
In the first article, Governor Chris Christie, in his customary proactive role, attempted to "alter" run-away state workers contracts. Admittedly handicapped by a greedy union, whose mission is to secure more money and benefits, without regard to the dismal statewide and nationwide economic outlook, Christie recognizes that he probably erred and overstepped his authority. It won’t stop him from asserting his vision, which is to create a fair balance, but he’ll just have to find another way. Nice try Gov, maybe you lost the battle, but, eventually, you are going to win the war.
On the other hand, in the second article, we have Congressman Frank "unimaginative and reactive" LoBiondo telling a Millville group that he will vote against the health bill. It's not the concept he'll vote against, he said, but the delivery. "Yada, yada, yada" - same song we've all heard before from Frank; sounds reasonable, vague and pleasing to the constituents, but in reality, never taking a firm position.
If I was fortunate enough to represent the second district, I’d model myself after a leader like Christie, with conviction and vision. Democrats are willing to place the entire health insurance industry in jeopardy by supporting Single Payer Healthcare with government taking over the operation. In exchange, government should seriously reevaluate eliminating a few inefficient and costly cabinet level agencies. The savings might pay for only a fraction of the Healthcare Insurance initiative, but it would be a grand gesture and dose of reality that what’s good for the private sector is good for the Government. Perhaps this would kick off a real productive discussion between the two parties on the merits of Universal Health Care. As a Congressman, I’d be very proud, as a tax-paying citizen I would be thrilled.
For purposes of this page,"M" will be represented by 
Angelina Jolie (who came along in 1975 (I just looked it up)
daughter of Voight, accepting the Oscar for John and "M"
