Remember the elementary school lesson “How a Bill Becomes a Law”? Well, George W. Bush and Republican Leadership in Congress redefined lawmaking when they forced their Medicare law through Congress. And a brief look at the gnarled twists and turns taken as this bill became law should make any student of American democracy shudder. Step One Use your bill to… return to article
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Reader Comments (21)Page 1 of 1 pagesIt never ceases to amaze me how greed can overcome any and all of our best instincts. I look at something like this and I see that winning has become the most important thing in the world to many. At least the many that inhabit the world inside the Beltway in Washington. I think perhaps we might look at new ways of expressing our government. One possibility is to decentralize. By that I mean having the representatives live in their own districts. The government was established at a time when communication was slow at best. But with today’s communications they could meet through conference communications. It would limit the ability of lobbyists from controlling our government. Another possibility is to have representation by lottery. As long as someone has a high school education and is literate they could serve for two years. It is about time we broke up the Washington group and made them actually responsible to the people who elected them.
Posted by Michele on Mar 9, 2004 at 1:39 PM If bush is appointed again many of us are planing to leave America. We do not want our children to receive a poor education, people going without health services and that is only the beginning. We are shocked by the many right wingers who stiil admire bush when they are being hurt by his actions. His ties to the right wing religous fanatic are sickening. Those people are as bad as the Islamic fundamentalist. These christians kill. This horrible thing in the white house is one of them. How do we battle these American terrorist? Tell me! I vote, I do volunteer work, I contribute, I get the word out to people sitting on the fence and thousands of other people are doing the same and more. If I were a christian I would think bush was the antichrist. All of us must unite to rid ourselves of this monster.
Posted by Linda on Mar 10, 2004 at 1:01 AM Where is any mention of AARP who also helped push this bill even though it really won’t help most of their members?
Posted by Randi on Mar 10, 2004 at 9:21 AM Even though I am not a constituent of Rep. Sanders, I seldom disagree with his arguents and statements. However, his recent views on the attempted takeover of the Chavez administration in Venzuela, marks him as a supporter of the Bush attempts at a coup d’etat of that democratically elected government.
I am surprised and disappointed.
Posted by Mildred Seewald on Mar 10, 2004 at 1:18 PM we’re all suprised and disappointed by this administration and our governmental leaders. the question we need to keep in mind is “how do we fix it?” i hear alot of complaining but not many ideas to correct the problems. maybe im just not listening to the right conversations but it seems to me that more can be done…
Posted by joe on Mar 11, 2004 at 12:22 AM the american people need to rember n to remind those in goverment they work for us i think we should fire most of them n start over
Posted by craig on Mar 11, 2004 at 6:11 AM Voting does not matter anymore. These pigs/puppets do whatever the corporations tell them to do.
Posted by michael copple on Mar 11, 2004 at 12:38 PM Why am I not surprised? Mr. Bush has lied since first being appointed President. From “No child left behind,” the “middle class tax cut,” to Iraq, this man and those around him have lied and deceived. Please, do all you can to re-defeat Bush.
Posted by Russ on Mar 11, 2004 at 3:38 PM It just gets better and better. Why is it that the ones who are sure to go there-hell, that is-are always the avowed religious ones? Go figure.
Joe St.Clair
Posted by Joe St.Clair on Mar 12, 2004 at 1:12 AM The Arabs Hit US on 9/11 and Bush Fought Back Hitting them Twice and Hard. Now he’s the Darling in the American Eye even though he didn’t win his job by much. So they gave him the Phamaceutical’s Bill…
Posted by David A. Nadeau on Mar 12, 2004 at 3:46 PM Stories such as this adds to the mounting weight of evidence that we have lost our Republic form of government where the “...supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officials and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law.” (from Webster’s)
Posted by J. Keller on Mar 13, 2004 at 6:51 PM Beautiful! Thanks so much for elaborating on how politics is really performed in the Bush Whitehouse.
Posted by Donald Benz on Mar 14, 2004 at 5:16 PM I watched 60 Minutes on CBS an hour before reading this article by Bernie Sanders. I respect reports by 60 Minutes, & now this article confirms.
Posted by Sue C. Pigg on Mar 14, 2004 at 7:55 PM I watched 60 Minutes on CBS an hour before reading this article by Bernie Sanders. I respect reports by 60 Minutes, & now this article confirms much of what was reported about the new Medicare bill.
Posted by Sue C. Pigg on Mar 14, 2004 at 7:57 PM A classic example of one hand washing the other! Seems like there are alot of dirty hands in this administration. God i’m depressed!
Posted by jeff on Mar 15, 2004 at 9:36 AM Can we please just wipe the slate clean and get a new government? As a young woman with most of my life in frount of me--it depresses me to think of what the future will be like if this is the present.
Posted by Laura B. on Mar 16, 2004 at 9:24 AM Interesting commentary, and easy for the “anybody-but-bush” crowd to gobble up, but just a tad one-sided nonetheless.
Posted by doug on Mar 18, 2004 at 9:21 PM We have the best government money can buy. The corporations lets us vote for their lobbiest. As long as we have money instead of the ‘people’ select their representatives, true democracy is dead long ago. No working man can ever run for office under the present system.
Posted by jrg on Mar 19, 2004 at 8:43 AM The Machiavellian nature of this story is a clear reminder that neo-conservatism is both a domestic and an international threat to the integrity of our institutions.
What is there to stop the end-justifies-the-means mentality of “c-grade yale students’ and their rich cronies?
Posted by Peter Gillespie on Mar 28, 2004 at 3:18 AM The Machiavellian nature of this story is a clear reminder that neo-conservatism is both a domestic and an international threat to the integrity of our institutions.
What is there to stop the end-justifies-the-means mentality of “c-grade yale students’ and their rich cronies?
Posted by Peter Gillespie on Mar 28, 2004 at 3:18 AM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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