During September of 2004, the VA hospital in Walla-Walla, WA had a total of 25 patients who had to wait up to 1-30 days and 1 patient who had to wait 30-60 days for medical treatment. As of this very moment there are 116 patients waiting 0-60 days and total of 49 who have already been waiting 120 days for treatment. An emergency bill allocating funds for the ongoing war on terror ignored this situation, and an amendment proposed that would have added 3 billion to the budgets of VA hospitals across the country currently operating in the red, was voted down by Republicans. The definition of an emergency being so cut and dry in our everyday life, in the political world of 2005 it is apparently much more difficult to define.
While there was an allocation within the bill for the construction of a new permanent prison facility in Guantanamo, the reality of even one veteran in our country having to wait four months to be seen by a doctor is disregarded. Just a few weeks ago this very same political party was crying out in anger over the removal of Mrs. Shiavo’s feeding tube. The idea of our need to promote a ‘culture of life’ was hammered consistently, but when the politics end and reality begins the deeds of GOP politicians fall miles short of their rhetoric.
This hypocrisy has been pointed out and mildly covered since last week, but the point we’re all looking past is that it’s not soldier health care the Republicans are against here. The soldier has less to do with it than does the ideology driving the majority party in their policy decisions. A soldier’s ‘expectation’ of quality treatment and attention in exchange for their service is what Republicans are against and have been for decades. Translated into political language, ‘expectation’ equals ‘entitlement’. Whether it’s a soldier, single mother, or senior citizen on a fixed income, the idea that any classification deserves an entitlement is what the Republican Party is against.
The fight over Social Security is more about the idea of entitlement than it is anything else. Solvency is the mushroom cloud of this political coup, but entitlement is the idea Republicans have worked hard to condition America to hate. A soldier’s entitlement is at issue here, and the GOP has stuck to their guns. Democrats need to seize this opportunity and instead of remaining predictable, get smart and discuss the core value that illuminates the difference between themselves and Republicans. Convincing America that Republicans don’t care about veterans is impossible, whereas correlating these issues will work across the board.
A gap exists in the discussion of all these issues in terms of the philosophy behind entitlement and whether or not it’s viable to have such a thing in our society. This discussion has not yet begun, but needs to take place. Republicans are insistent on characterizing Democrats as the party of big government and high taxes, yet they leave out the word entitlement for a specific reason. They don’t want to prompt the discussion and Democrats are too afraid to say the wrong thing. Meanwhile, a veteran in the state of Washington has been waiting four months for a medical appointment. This citizen feels entitled to better service.
Democrats must step up and first find these people, and second they need to make waves that are not bound to become ripples within a week. Take a page out of the GOP book and go over the top, and latch onto their own tagline of ‘No Catch Entitlements’. Argue why they’re necessary, and point out where our government is failing Americans. When Republicans respond with numbers of increased spending, point out that talk is cheap and start naming Americans who are being left behind.