Piece of crap from beginning to end, and they can't even be bothered to think up an actual argument for opposing Kerry's plan. They oppose it, apparently for three reasons:
1.) It's not brand new.
2.) It's coming from Kerry.
3.) They're pissed off that he might consider running again. ("what? we didn't kill him off last time???")
http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=150814 Candidate Kerry, redux
By Boston Herald editorial staff
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Meet the new John Kerry. Same as the old John Kerry.
If anyone out there is still wondering whether our junior senator is hurtling headlong into another race for president, they need only listen to his speech at Faneuil Hall to realize Kerry is more concerned about scoring points in Iowa and South Carolina than he is here at home.
Kerry dusted off the health care proposal he touted on the 2004 campaign trail, bemoaning the national health care “crisis” and trashing the Bush administration for old times’ sake. No surprise there.
But one thing has changed since Kerry’s campaign ostensibly ended in November 2004 - his home state passed landmark legislation that might well pave the way for every other state to extend coverage to millions of uninsured residents.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt last week called the bill a model for the rest of the nation. Local and national experts and opinion columnists have hailed the great promise the bill holds for covering the uninsured by relying on a combination of free market reforms and government subsidies and including a mandate that all residents carry health insurance.
Kerry did have a few kind words for the folks back on the farm (about 200 of the 4,500 word speech) and for the bill celebrated by Republicans and Democrats alike.
“Massachusetts is showing America how to take the initiative, break the gridlock, and confront this issue head-on,” he noted. He singled out Ted Kennedy for most of the credit, but House Speaker Sal DiMasi, Senate President Robert Travaglini and even Gov. Mitt Romney got a plug for helping “make reform a reality.”
But then he fell back on the same old, same old - Wal-Mart is the villain, the president’s prescription drug plan is an “unfolding disaster” (tell that to the seniors whose drugs are now covered), and we need a “comprehensive national health strategy” that includes repealing tax cuts for the wealthy. He spoke of controlling costs, covering all of America’s uninsured by 2012, and putting patients before profits. All well and good.
But haven’t we heard it all before?
P.S. I actually thought he was too kind to Mittens.