Who am I voting For?

In my most humblest opinion, the most pressing issue in this country is access to affordable health care. This issue needs to be seriously addressed by the current presidential candidates. Of course there are other critical issues which need to be addressed but none seem as important as having a healthy population with access to universal health care to me. I told myself years ago that I would vote for either a Republican, Democrat or Independent who offered a serious universal health care plan.

So far, the only candidate who has done that is Hillary Clinton.

I believe Hillary will deliver on this promise because she was emotionally invested in initiating universal health care years ago during her husband's presidency. Call it saving face, I don't care.

There sure seems to be a bit of intolerance in the lefty blogs regarding Hillary and Obama. It is disappointing to see such intolerance from people who consider themselves pro choice.

The only blog post that best describes the importance of universal health care was a blog post at Corrente. The author, Lambert, writes better than I ever could......

Universal health care is a big concern for me in this race. I expect the Democrats to deliver on it. There’s a woman in my town who runs a small store — she’s the one who had to miss the caucus because she couldn’t afford to close up for an afternoon — who works like a dog, employs three people, used to be able to afford health insurance for herself and her employees, and now she can’t.

So she’s going naked.

Because she stands all day, she’s got blood circulation problems, and sometimes she bleeds out into her shoes, standing there at the cash register. That’s a pre-existing condition, so she’s never going to be able to get back into the insurance system at a price she can afford. This country has thrown her away. She’s also a lifelong Democrat.

I don’t expect the Democrats to throw her away.

I expect the Democratic Party to deliver for her.

And that means I expect either Hillary or Obama to deliver for her. Well, Obama, not so much.

What solidified my support for Clinton's health care plan was the backing of Elizabeth Edwards backing of Hillary's health care plan.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, is picking sides in the Democratic nomination race – at least with respect to health care. In an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” she threw her support behind Sen. Hillary Clinton’s health care plan.

“In order to ensure that we have universal coverage, we need to say everybody has to join,” Edwards told ABC’s Robin Roberts. “So, for that reason, the mandates that Sen. Clinton is talking about, I think are going to be more successful in achieving the goal,” she added. CNN Link

My decision is not final. I always reserve the right to change my mind. However, the lack of health care has been a burden in my life and I see it as a huge burden for friends and family. Heck, even strangers stories like the one below outrage me.

A hole in our hearts where a neighbor was
A local column by Peg Elliott Mayo

A good man — 59 years old, reclusive, gentle, skilled — died on the morning of March 15. Incredible.

He had his personal weirdness, like everyone else, but he was invested in life. He loved ducks in the river and strange sprouts in the garden, almost any life form. He loved his kitties, especially Cosmos, smiled a lot and was gentle in his hugging.

Gary Way wasn’t silly. He knew raccoons would decimate the chickens. He preferred to be sure the birds were in the coop at dusk. He boarded up access holes rather than using a shotgun or even a .22 single-shot rifle.

He did Herculean labor, cutting firewood, digging, planting and harvesting a large garden, clearing brushy brambles, hauling water to his tiny house; building, building, building. Gary made paths smoother. I called him John Deere, after the tractor.

He taught my non-blood younger brother, Earl Newman, the pleasures of a computer. That was a massive accomplishment. He never let me carry anything heavier than a smile.

Gary lived on trust and by sharing both muscle and skills, not money, although he had a master’s degree in business. He and John

O’Donohue (worthy of a Google) would have lifted a glass of single-malt together and, meeting eyes, known themselves to be brothers.

He had a shabby, Food Share Unique Boutique wardrobe and straggly hair. He kept a Buddha statue by his door. I could go on, and I probably will.

Gary was a good man with whom to share a gentle banter.

Today’s major lesson: Love life and love one another, however ethereal, dumb, uninformed, in denial and messed up any of us is at a particular moment.

Gary’s son and friends are asking the usual questions: What’s next? What is there to learn? How to realize that Brother Death comes for all of us?

Me, I’m heading to the river to holler out how murderously angry I am that a good man died because he couldn’t even imagine affording medical help for what seems to have been a particularly virulent attack of the flippin’ flu. Sure, he could have reported to an emergency room, but why couldn’t he have had insurance, not a ferocious bill? Corvallis-Gazette Times Link