Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Tomorrow, Republican Rep. Steve Daines announces whether he’ll run for re-election to the U.S. House or go after the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Max Baucus, who is retiring. Daines is trying to build suspense by not tipping his hand, but only fool would bet on another run for the House. Ryan Zinke, Matt Rosendale, and Corey Stapleton, would not have announced their candidacies for the GOP nomination for the House unless Daines had quietly assured them he was running for the Senate.
Daines’ website omits the office he seeks, but everything else is there: the family photo, his stands on the issues, a contact page, and a page for online donations.
Over the course of the campaign, I’ll examine Daines’ positions on the issues, but given his notoriety as a charter members of the Shutdown Caucus that tried to gut the Affordable Care Act, the first plank in his platform to examine is health care. Here’s his health care plank, complete with both capitalization variants for Obamacare:
So, Rep. Daines, exactly what are those “…solutions that actually improve the quality of our health care system”? You’ve had plenty of time to come up with the details: so, what are they? Why hide them from the people you allege you want to help? Good solutions win votes — so why not make the details public right now?
Don’t expect specifics between now and the election. Daines and his Republican colleagues reject an amend and improve strategy for the ACA. Their goal is restoring the status quo ante, and then converting Medicare into a voucher scheme that shifts the risk to individuals while further complicating an already too complicated system. The Republican health care plan for the nation is the same as it was a century ago: you’re on your own.