Dr's In: Give Peace a Chance!

The reopening of Government and the paying of its bills offers some breathing room for further negotiations.  I suspect another budget battle will come quickly.  Ari Fleisher may be right stating that the current agreement was more a 15 yard punt.  There is no victory here, particularly for the stressed American people hoping for a functional government that will get its work done.

Forty-three attempts to wreck ObamaCare have failed.  Website problems have allowed more fodder for those obsessed with its failure.  Yet, slowly ObamaCare is reaching out and capturing those priced out or outright refused by health insurance companies in the past.  The exchanges could work.  Millions of uninsured could have decent access to health care. 

I am not a great fan of ObamaCare but do believe it deserves a chance to function without the brutal attacks that have continued since the Bill (ACA) was passed.  Of course there are the attacks on the President himself by those who have openly stated that if the President wants it, they are against it.  That attitude has caused congressional dysfunction and must stop.

The fights and name-calling have already begun and there seems no end of the schism that has threatened America’s recovery, risked another financial downgrade, and caused allies and foes alike to wonder what is happening in America.  There are concerns of a destabilized dollar and attempts to lessen the economic influence of the US world-wide. 

Our continued international sway may be too costly yet growth rather than contraction is the life’s blood of any business or nation. The isolationists who tout a business approach to government should know full well that success does not come with contraction but growth.  Slashing government jobs, increasing disparities between the super rich, shrinking the middle class, and the growing underserved are ominous events that point to a dark future. Our success as a nation is directly related to growing consumerism.

Simply, the centrists from both parties need to sit down and talk to not past each other.  The blaming must stop.  The misinformation must stop from both sides.  Our elected officials must decide if they want to participate in the destruction of America or regroup and find a path for growth.  Mature thinking must rule the day and all should bury their hatchets for the sake of this nation.  A good start would be successful collaboration not compromise for a balanced long-term budget and a decision to give ObamaCare a chance.  I hope so for the sake of all of us.