Scott Brown is endorsed by Cambridge officers. Does anyone have more info on this?

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

This is only relevant because of the upcoming MA election (which is going to affect Somerville and Davis Sq).

The SN posted: http://www.thesomervillenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=3007

It looks like: "The members of the Cambridge Police Patrol Officers Association voted to endorse State Senator Scott Brown as our next United States Senator in Tuesday's election against Attorney General Martha Coakley."

They complain that "We do not endorse anyone who advocates changes in the health care that take away any bargaining rights or increases our cost along with our contributions. Senator Brown does not support the Comprehensive Health care Reform Bill and promises to be the 41st vote to ensure its defeat. The current leadership at the state house, as we all know and have seen over the past two years, have an agenda to dismantle all of our hard earned bargained benefits and they will continue to dismantle these until there is a complete change from the top down".

Is Brown the solution to their problems? Really? Scott Brown is their pro-Union guy? This makes no sense.

I find it disturbing that cops (with guns) act so childishly. Remember? Obama had said that they acted "stupidly" during the Gates case, and later apologized, but these folks don't seem to be able to get over it. Furthermore, I find it disturbing that they are basically saying to the rest of us: We got our cushy health plans, paid by your taxes, too bad for the rest of you (losers).

Comments

[docorion.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your reasoned and well spoken reply. As a health care analyst of sorts, though, let me point out that if the members of your (or any) union think that Scott Brown can "save" their health plans, they're fooling themselves. Health care costs, as a proportion of GDP, are rising faster than any other cost. IIRC, if unchecked, we will be paying 25 cents of every dollar in the US on health care by something like 2050 (might be sooner; definitely not later). That's 25 cents which will no longer be available to buy food, pay rent or mortgage, or do anything else.

Health reform is important because it is the only way to change that. Is the bill now in Congress the best possible bill? Oh, hell no. But it is a start. The solution is not to block it; it is to fix it. The alternative is to wait for a worse bill to come along, under even more fiscal pressure, without even the amount of public discussion we've had thus far.

(Full disclosure: I volunteer for the Martha Coakley campaign. I'm not disinterested, but this is also what I would say even if I were not volunteering).