Bill White – 9/5/06

This page was last updated on September 5, 2006.

Santorum’s not on our side; Bill White; Beaver County Times; September 5, 2006.

Mr. White had quite a run of anti-Bush and/or anti-Republican letters from August 2004 through April 2005. This the second anti-Santorum letter from Mr. White within the last month.

This letter continues a trend I’ve commented about before. While we have letters from libs telling how evil Sen. Santorum is and that we should vote against him, I haven’t seen any letters telling us why we should vote for Bob Casey, Jr. I’m no expert, but I don’t believe that’s good for Mr. Casey.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Enjoy the continuing sharp increase in drug pricing? Glad Medicare is banned from negotiating bulk purchases? Happy Americans are not paying Canadian costs for medicine?

[RWC] With a program as large as Medicare, it’s no longer called “negotiating.” It’s called government price control and it never works.

Let’s humor Mr. White for a second and assume Medicare “negotiated” cheap prices. Whom do you think would then make up the lost revenue to the pharmaceutical companies? Correct. The prices to those of us not on Medicare would go up even more. Why do libs never consider the reactions to their schemes?

This is being picky, but Mr. White seems to treat cost and price as synonyms. They are not.

“Then it is U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum for whom to cast your vote, and give thanks.”

[RWC] It would be nice if Mr. White could explain how any senator controls drug prices. The best way to get lower drug prices is to get government out of the healthcare business and to eliminate the special tax treatment of employer-based healthcare insurance. When people have to pay for their medications out of their own pockets, as I do, they’ll shop smarter and drive down prices.

“Since 1999, he has received $171,825 in lobbying money from the industry; $94,300 in 2004 alone. Does the junior senator work for the good of the public, cutting excessive profits from the industry? Or can it be said he turns his back on the everyday citizen?”

[RWC] What are “excessive profits?”

“There is no question drug costs have outgained salaries, pensions, etc. into the double digits. Santorum has his signature on every Senate bill, every amendment, that gives cause to this outrage. He is no friend of John Q. Public, but a close ally to the drug companies, of which he is a large benefactor.

“The choice is quite simple: vote for continued rising costs or vote to stop this immoral practice.”

[RWC] There’s no question Sen. Santorum was wrong to vote for a Medicare prescription drug plan. The government has no business getting involved in healthcare. Mr. Santorum should have voted against the bill and sponsored legislation to begin the multi-decade phase-out of Medicare. I’m sure Mr. White would agree with me. <g>