After being all mean and cynical yesterday, let me now say something nice about Senator Hutchison: She is absolutely doing the right thing regarding S-CHIP. If only some of her fellow Republicans would follow her lead.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Friday she “of course” will vote to override President Bush’s veto of a children’s insurance program expansion that she supported.
But Hutchison said she isn’t trying to coax members of the Texas delegation in the U.S. House who opposed that version of a Children’s Health Insurance Program expansion to do the same, although an override is expected to be more difficult in that chamber.
“I know that many in the House delegation have different constituencies. I was obviously looking at all of Texas,” Hutchison said in response to questions.
“And they have concerns that I think are legitimate in many ways that the program expanding too much would cause people to leave their private health insurance, which is not what we want.
“That would weaken our health care system,”Hutchison said.
[…]
“I will, of course, vote to override, because I think that from my standpoint, I did the right thing,” Hutchison said, adding that the measure included proper limits, protection for Texas’ funding and a way to reach children who still don’t have health care.
Well, I’m glad that one of our Senators is “looking at all of Texas”. Perhaps next year we can elect another Senator who will do the same.
And just in case you think it’s only us cranky Democrats who are urging an override of this veto, get a load of this:
Catholics United will launch a radio advertising campaign targeting ten members of Congress whose opposition to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) have compromised their pro-life voting records.
The ads, which feature a mother urging her Congressional Representative to support SCHIP, will primarily air on Christian and talk radio stations from Monday Oct. 15 to Wednesday, Oct. 17 as Congress approaches a critical Oct. 18 vote to override President Bush’s veto of bipartisan SCHIP legislation.
“Building a true culture of life requires public policies that promote the welfare of the most vulnerable,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United. “At the heart of the Christian faith is a deep and abiding concern for the need of others. Pro-life Christians who serve in Congress should honor this commitment by supporting health care for poor children.”
[…]
The script for the radio commercial reads: “I’m the mother of three children, and I’m pro-life. I believe that protecting the lives our children must be our nation’s number one moral priority. That’s why I’m concerned that Congressman X says he’s pro-life but votes against health care for poor children. That’s not pro-life. That’s not pro-family. Tell Congressman X to vote for health care for children. Call him today at XXXX, that’s XXXXX.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA, and the Catholic Health Association have all urged Congress and President Bush to support SCHIP.
Sadly, they are not targeting anyone in Texas. Which is too bad, as this is an ad that would resonate in just about every Republican-held district. Link via MyDD.
So typical of Kay Bailey Hutchison. She knows it will not be overridden in the Senate despite overwhelming public support for the legislation and so she is safe in sitting on the fence again. Working both sides.
On one side of the fence are the Repubican senators she will not argue with because they have legitimate concerns. On the other side of the fence, the Republican voters she will not argue with either since they have legitimate concerns as well. As do the Democratic voters. Some of whom vote for her.
You can’t please all of the people all of the time but Kay Bailey Hutchison sure tries to and usually does so without any real conviction. Doing the right thing without any real conviction is not doing the right thing. Most of what she does is simply for Kay Bailey Hutchison who despite recently commenting she might retire obviously has no intention of doing so. Not voluntarily anyway.
But she looks good. She has a PhD from PT Barnum University. There’s a sucker born every minute. As indicated by her poll numbers. And the numbers at the polls.