Whether or not about 600,000 South Dakotans actually think Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin actually represents them or some group of rich and influential “stake holders” in the Health Insurance industry seems an open question. Whatever we think, some lobbyist group is loading SD TV with ads claiming SHS is “Standing Tall for South Dakotans”.
My perspective on her standing tall has little to do with left or right, liberal or conservative or even up or down, but with rank opportunism.
Herseth-Sandlin "Stands Tall"
I did not hear the same radio broadcasts that Todd Epp heard and commented on his blog here at KELOLAND because both SDPB radio and TV have been off the air in the daytime out here in the boondocks. I did read the column she got into the Mitchell Daily Republic and did not find it persuasive or even setting a plausible reason for opposing the plans to change health insurance.
There is one good reason to oppose it and that is not Herseth-Sandlin’s reason, but is that the current proposals are a hodge-podge of bandages on a wasteful system that sucks out something like $395 billion in insurance profits and overhead from actual health care. George McGovern has presented the only real reform of health insurance that makes any sense.
That is “Extend Medicare to every US Citizen”. That is not nearly 2,000 pages of ways to allow private insurers to ration health care with no regard for patients, but full regard for their own profits and incredible executive salaries.
The other problem with this “reform” that Herseth-Sandlin is not mentioning is that it will be used as an excuse to not actually reform heathcare with a universal single payer system.
