Gov. Jim Douglas finds himself in an interesting political position these days with the Bush administration, don't you think?"
Vermont and other states will take financial hits under the new, out-of-the-blue rule changes for the State Children's Health Insurance Program that the Bush administration just announced. Bush and Douglas are in the same political party, of course, and Douglas supported (read that worked for) Bush's election and re-election.
Yet the headline over the governor's statement on this change says "Bush administration proposal to "gut" children's health care program. Douglas goes on to describe the Bush action as shortsighted and unconscionable. Wow, those are strong words for someone who's supposed to be a friend and political ally.
On this issue -- health care for kids -- it looks like the Douglas administration wants to make sure Vermonters see their governor as willing to stand up to Washington.
It's the second time in a week that I've heard
fightin' words from the Douglas administration towards the Bush administration. In an interview last week, Secretary of Administration Michael Smith expressed the same consternation about the Bush administration's decision on the state's request for permission to use federal dollars on the soon-to-launch
Catamount Health. Smith said, "I don't understand the Bush administration on this at all. They are dead wrong."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, doesn't have those kinds of political entanglements to worry about, so it was easy for him to take aim at the Bush administration on the
SCHIP rule change.
He called it "sick" and "outrageous." "Frankly, even for the Bush administration this is a new low. While he pushes for billions in tax breaks for the richest 1 percent, he is throwing kids off of the health insurance they already have. What a set of priorities."
It was an easy call for Rep. Peter
Welch, D-VT, too, who joined the Bush
bashers on
SCHIP late this afternoon. He said, "By attempting to gut successful children's health care programs, President Bush has yet again demonstrated his morally misguided priorities."
-- Nancy
Remsen
