“The proposed health care program is not the best, but it’s the closest we’ve ever come to having something that approaches universal; I don’t think the opportunity is going to come again for a long time, and we need to get going on it now.”
– Linda Ward, Santa Rosa.
Ward’s comment reflects many of the responses we’ve received as part of our latest Press Democrat Editorial Board survey.
The online survey shows that three out of four Press Democrat readers agree with the president when he said the American people “are waiting for us to act. They are waiting for us to lead on health care reform.”
The survey, which was conducted over the weekend, shows locals want a health care reform bill passed – whether it comes through the budget reconciliation process or not.
Sixty-seven percent of those who have taken the survey so far so they support a plan by the Democratic leadership in Congress to used the budget reconciliation process to get a health care reform bill through.
We report on the results of the latest survey in an editorial on Tuesday’s editorial page. (To see it, click here.)
Of the 325 letter writers and other readers who responded to our invitation to take the survey, nearly 200 left written comments. To read them and/or take the survey yourself, click here:
Here’s a sampling of other comments:
“CNN shows only 25 percent of the public are for this health care plan that is being pushed down our throats . . . It is dangerous, we can’t afford it, and it will bankrupt our nation.” – Peggy Kind, Petaluma
“Not to pass health care legislation with the inclusion of a robust public option would be catastrophic to our economy and the health of Americans. The Republicans who are opposing health care en masse will live to be justly ashamed of themselves in the near future.” Donna Cherlin, Forestville
“We pay twice as much per person for health care as does any other country, yet we are last among all industrial nations in virtually all measurements of health: longevity, infant mortality, diabetes, liver cancer . . . I refuse to believe that Americans are content to protect the worst deal on earth, and that hamstrings our industries and competitiveness.” – David R. Williams, Windsor
– Paul Gullixson
