It may surprise some when I reveal the person I reference in the title of this entry. Last night I saw watching Hannity on Fox News and he was conducting an interview with Representative Jason Altmire (D-PA) and I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. Altmire has not yet committed to voting either for or against the health care reform bill. That is a good thing in and of itself, but it was his reasoning that stood out.
It seems that Rep. Altmire wants to see what's in the bill first. Then he wants to make sure that all the back room deals have been removed. Then he wants to see the numbers from the CBO (congressional budget office). He also wants to hear from his constituency before making a decision. Who the hell is this guy and where are the normal politicians that seem to have infected Washington over the last 200 years?
I was amazed. I haven't heard anyone say these things in quite some time. Even though Rep. Altmire is a Democrat and we would probably disagree on most issues I have to give him credit for his comments and his actions. Now if he ultimately votes for this bill at least he will have done so after getting the information on it and listen to his employers, that is the voters of Pennsylvania. Of course I want him to vote against it, but I don't live in his district. So it matters more what they think.
Rep. Altmire said in this interview that he would be unable to vote for this bill if the items such as the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase were not removed. Wow, a politician with some principles. Again, kudos for Jason. For me it's not that deals have been made to secure votes, that has been going on since the beginning of political time. It's just that the arrogance of this administration believes that these can now be made out in the open and the people will ignore it or won't get it. Jason Altmire seems to agree with me on this and is standing up against it. Good for him.
Rep. Altmire is also against the "Deem and Pass" system being used on this piece of legislation. He agrees with most people that this is just too big a bill to have anything but a straight up and down vote on this. Just like the president said in the latest of his speeches on the subject.
I just hope that the rest of our elected officials take notice of the actions and comments of Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) and begin to conduct themselves more in this manner. He understands that he works for the people that sent him to Washington. He is there for them, not because of them.
Again Rep. Altmire and I probably wouldn't agree on much in the way of political ideology, but based on last night's interview he definitely gained my respect.
Can you believe it? I said something nice about a Democrat.
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