First, let's acknowledge that not all those Republicans who oppose President Barack Obama on health care reform are up to political no-good.
But after flirting with cooperation on reform, and bolstered by well-publicized "anti" rallies, Republicans now are talking about "starting over" with health-care reform...in other words, foiling the president's efforts to get something done by year's end.
That was evident in a Charlotte appearance by North Carolina's Republican Sen. Richard Burr and his colleagues John McCain of Arizona and GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. All three say they don't oppose the notion of reform, and Burr has outlined a plan that he says would do the job.
But as a group Republicans in Congress continue to embrace flawed solutions: they would place even greater reliance on private insurance plans, with tax credits to allow Americans to buy health care coverage; and they raise scary, unjustified alarms over reasonable efforts to control Medicare costs — as if the system wasn't going broke.
Overall, they fail to fill the many holes in the present system, and their notion of "empowering" health care consumers, while it has its merits as a possible cost-cutter, wouldn't mean much for ill or injured people in many dire situations.
To read the complete editorial, visit The (Raleigh) News & Observer.
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