Good point from a South Dakota Dem

We've been hearing a lot of chatter in the South Dakota Demosphere about the disappointment many of us have with the self-labled "Blue Dogs" including our own at-large Representative. Here is a comment I felt worth sharing around (with permission of course!)

What disappoints me most is that many members of Congress seem more interested in getting re-elected than in LEADING. We mistakenly interpret the phrase “represent”. I want to be represented by someone who can represent the best interests of our state.

Too often our elected leaders attempt to represent the thinking that currently prevails in the majority. They do this so they can attain re-election. Elected leaders certainly must respect the thinking and beliefs of their constituents, but they must also accept the responsibilities associated with informing and “leading” their constituents.

We desperately need health care reform. We need health care available to all Americans without bankrupting them. We need to start thinking about health care in a different way. We can't continue to view health care as a facet of free enterprise dictated by free market economics. That's why costs have blown up and will continue to skyrocket. The same free market approach that dictates costs associated with corn flakes or television sets is inappropriate for health care. The Republicans think that free market opportunities and responses are the solution for everything. That simplistic notion fails in certain circumstances, and health care is one of them.

Peter Carrels