Jefferson rebuked party loyalty

In 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote that voting for any candidate merely because of shared political party affiliation was an “addiction that is the degradation of a free and moral agent.” Did the minority of eligible voters who voted overwhelmingly for Republicans do so out of a moral concern with what’s best for the country, or in response to the relentless campaign to demonize President Obama by Fox “News,” Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and right-wing zealots in Congress?

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), a key factor in the election, was condemned as a brazen government takeover of health care, never mind the relatively efficient and popular Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Administration system.

The crippling flaw in the ACA wasn’t mentioned: The private insurance industry remains a major player. A mature public and political system would demand what the rest of the advanced world has – a national universal health care system.

Jefferson felt the two most important components of democracy are an education that develops a moral and questioning citizenry, and a press that “illuminates, as far as possible” the excesses of the powerful, in and out of government.

There appears to be a deficiency in these institutions.

Buell Hollister

Spokane