Political Disease

I'm always puzzled by the lack of foresight that political parties tend to exhibit. Case in point, the Vermont Progressive Party recently stated: ‘We refuse alternatives to single payer health care’

Now that type of blanket statement is dangerous. How can we possibly consider a statement like that even reasonable. I actually think the Vermont Progressive Party's platform has some interesting, even admirable statements...

Unfortunately, government is increasingly becoming unresponsive and irresponsible. The two brand-name parties frequently act in concert, because they serve the same corporate interests. They agree to take issues “off the table”, preventing discussion of issues important to most Vermonters: health care for all, property tax reform, energy independence.

We put the interests of the farmers, laborers, students, small business owners and seniors ahead of the interests of the large corporations that influence the other major parties.

Now if a proposal was offered that met the shared goals of Vermonters, and also reduced costs were offered, the Progressive Party would refuse to address that proposal simply because it wasn't single payer? That's an incredibly narrow view of the state. It's also the symptom of a much larger disease in American politics. Intolerance can be quite ugly in any form; especially when it is an intolerance of ideas.