I was cutting dadoes down in my shop when I felt the vibration in my breast pocket. Unidentified number so I went back to the table saw. When I got another shot of the cooling morning coffee I looked again and there was a voice mail. Before deleting, I looked at the Apple transcription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026consultant to the President\u2026wish to speak\u2026could you call us back…time sensitive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Geez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I listened to it before deleting it. This could be a real scam. I figured they wanted my Social Security number for sure. But no, despite the mumbling, I detected they knew me, and just wanted to talk. So, I called them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSenator Schmidt?\u201d they answered quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust who are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI work for the President\u2019s campaign team, and we wanted to visit with you about his healthcare plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, we really need some ideas, and we\u2019ve used AI to find the folks with the best ideas and the algorithm came up with you. And there were some others. But I need your thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I finished the dregs of the cool coffee. \u201cWhat\u2019s the big rush?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, you see, he made this big announcement that he was planning to replace the Affordable Care Act with something new and different, so we are reaching out. AI says you have not been fully supportive of the ACA in your writings. It strongly recommended your input.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGeez, Biden wants to replace the ACA? I hadn\u2019t heard that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a long pause. \u201cOh no, not Biden. I am referring to The President. We all here refer to him as the Real President on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I laughed out loud. \u201cSo, Trump made this big promise with no ideas?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t in the script. The President does that. He senses things and goes off script. We were all very unprepared. But we have very strong algorithms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, you call me. Heck, I\u2019m cutting dadoes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSenator\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I cut in \u201cState Senator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBe that as it may, we are looking for your best ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I brushed the dust off the table saw top. \u201cYou don\u2019t need me for this. Just read the data, the polls. The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world and we have the worst outcomes of any developed country. The younger voters strongly favor universal coverage. It\u2019s just the old geezers like me with Medicare that oppose it, since we\u2019ve already got it. If he wants the youth vote tell old carrot face to go full Bernie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a long pause, and I heard some noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI could go on. Every state that expanded Medicaid, a small step toward universal coverage saw an economic bump. Here in Idaho, it was real and dramatic. Think what that would do to the Dow Jones if a President with some spine was able to push that through those old Republican fully insured Senators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I heard a voice I recognized say in the background, \u201cCan\u2019t we get somebody else? I like his spunk, but I can\u2019t go full Bernie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey,\u201d I yelled. \u201cAm I on speaker phone!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUm, yes, Senator, you are. The President has been listening in with his advisors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe you ought to say that up front, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I paused and they did too. But I jumped at the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMister President. I know Bernie isn\u2019t your idea of a strong man. But health care coverage for everybody in this country is what\u2019s holding us back in the world economy. We\u2019re smarter and more hard working than the Germans but we spend twice as much as them on healthcare. Have some cojones. Admit we need to make this leap. Biden took the baby step on infrastructure and global warming. Show you have the manhood to address true healthcare reform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The line went dead. I went back to cutting dadoes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was cutting dadoes down in my shop when I felt the vibration in my breast pocket. Unidentified number so I went back to the table saw. When I got another shot of the cooling morning coffee I looked again … Continue reading