Corey Stewart’s loss in the recent Senate race against Tim Kaine surprised no one. Kaine was the incumbent, had a lot more money and a lot more political experience. Stewart helped out by relying too much on party politics.
Stewart decided early on to run, in his own words, a vicious and ruthless campaign. Instead of trying to appeal to the needs of the people, he ignored good policy and focused on the party line.
He totally missed that most Virginians are not far right or left and are growing tired of partisan politics.
Besides, when you are seeking a seat in what is supposed to be the premier deliberative body in the world (the U.S. Senate) it helps if you can show you can think for yourself.
Just consider one issue currently in the news, the opioid epidemic.
For Virginia, a state hit hard by this national crisis, getting opioid abuse under control is a major concern.
While deaths from overdoses of prescription drugs have remained fairly level since 2011, overdose deaths from synthetic drugs such as Fentanyl and Heroin continue to rise. No longer a big city issue, the abuse is creeping into western Virginia, especially the southwestern highlands. According to the New York Times, overdoses now kill more people than guns or car accidents.
Stewart’s solution was to increase the co-pay for Medicaid recipients prescribed opioids. He probably got that lame idea from Senate Republicans who were arguing that expanding Medicaid was contributing to the growing opioid crisis. It is a position not based on research, or even good sense, but is a knee-jerk reaction by too many Republicans who hear the word Medicaid and shut down their brains.
The truth is that solid research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that Medicaid expansion did not worsen the opioid epidemic. Instead, it increased the ability of caregivers to fight this societal cancer.
Kaine’s plan, like so many plans coming from the left, was not much better – but it felt nice, and looked pretty, so it provided the more experienced politician a safe zone to sit back, pretend he had a viable solution, and let Stewart self-destruct.
Kaine’s brilliant plan included initiatives such as increasing seizures of illegal opiates arriving at the US border (with no explanation of how to do that); have the National Institute of Health develop non-addictive painkillers (dreamland again); and then throw more money at treatment programs. The last idea was at least in the realm of reality – but only if you’ve identified programs that actually work and know where the money is coming from. Again, however, Kaine left us hanging on those questions.
Maybe because they actually have to stick to a budget, local governments are taking a more realistic approach.
Last week, The News Gazette reported that Rockbridge County was joining Lexington to “look into” the possibility of a lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of opioids.
While I like the idea of looking into this first. I worry it might turn into a typical leftist blame-the-guy-with-the-fat-wallet tactic. We should keep in mind that a too tough smack down on drug companies could have the unintended consequence of running legitimate drug companies out of the pain relief business, leaving many needy customers without relief or with prescription costs so high they are forced to turn to illicit sources.
However, the solution will definitely require money.
In 2010 the makers of OxyCotin (one of the primary drugs used by those addicted to opioids) pled guilty to criminal charges that they misled regulators and patients about the drug’s risk of addiction and were fined $634.5 million – one of the largest fines ever paid by a drug company.
Then, a little over a year ago, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national health emergency freeing up emergency funds and streamlining paperwork to better address the problem. While only a temporary measure (renewed four times so far), it is a step in the right direction.
Regardless of where one stands on this issue, it is good to see politicians “looking into” policy decisions instead of just spouting partisan talking points designed to oppose or demonize the opposition.
The truth is that neither the far left nor the far right represents most Virginians. And while I still might vote mostly Republican (at least they pretend to be conservative), I will vote for whoever is willing to put good policy ahead of party. Call it a vote for the people.
Punchbowl Shelter
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The Founders Tavern 
Opioids, Common Sense and the Election
Posted in Political Commentary, tagged conservative, corey stewart, elections, opioids, politics on December 1, 2018| 1 Comment »
Stewart decided early on to run, in his own words, a vicious and ruthless campaign. Instead of trying to appeal to the needs of the people, he ignored good policy and focused on the party line.
He totally missed that most Virginians are not far right or left and are growing tired of partisan politics.
Besides, when you are seeking a seat in what is supposed to be the premier deliberative body in the world (the U.S. Senate) it helps if you can show you can think for yourself.
Just consider one issue currently in the news, the opioid epidemic.
For Virginia, a state hit hard by this national crisis, getting opioid abuse under control is a major concern.
While deaths from overdoses of prescription drugs have remained fairly level since 2011, overdose deaths from synthetic drugs such as Fentanyl and Heroin continue to rise. No longer a big city issue, the abuse is creeping into western Virginia, especially the southwestern highlands. According to the New York Times, overdoses now kill more people than guns or car accidents.
Stewart’s solution was to increase the co-pay for Medicaid recipients prescribed opioids. He probably got that lame idea from Senate Republicans who were arguing that expanding Medicaid was contributing to the growing opioid crisis. It is a position not based on research, or even good sense, but is a knee-jerk reaction by too many Republicans who hear the word Medicaid and shut down their brains.
The truth is that solid research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that Medicaid expansion did not worsen the opioid epidemic. Instead, it increased the ability of caregivers to fight this societal cancer.
Kaine’s plan, like so many plans coming from the left, was not much better – but it felt nice, and looked pretty, so it provided the more experienced politician a safe zone to sit back, pretend he had a viable solution, and let Stewart self-destruct.
Kaine’s brilliant plan included initiatives such as increasing seizures of illegal opiates arriving at the US border (with no explanation of how to do that); have the National Institute of Health develop non-addictive painkillers (dreamland again); and then throw more money at treatment programs. The last idea was at least in the realm of reality – but only if you’ve identified programs that actually work and know where the money is coming from. Again, however, Kaine left us hanging on those questions.
Maybe because they actually have to stick to a budget, local governments are taking a more realistic approach.
Last week, The News Gazette reported that Rockbridge County was joining Lexington to “look into” the possibility of a lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of opioids.
While I like the idea of looking into this first. I worry it might turn into a typical leftist blame-the-guy-with-the-fat-wallet tactic. We should keep in mind that a too tough smack down on drug companies could have the unintended consequence of running legitimate drug companies out of the pain relief business, leaving many needy customers without relief or with prescription costs so high they are forced to turn to illicit sources.
However, the solution will definitely require money.
In 2010 the makers of OxyCotin (one of the primary drugs used by those addicted to opioids) pled guilty to criminal charges that they misled regulators and patients about the drug’s risk of addiction and were fined $634.5 million – one of the largest fines ever paid by a drug company.
Then, a little over a year ago, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national health emergency freeing up emergency funds and streamlining paperwork to better address the problem. While only a temporary measure (renewed four times so far), it is a step in the right direction.
Regardless of where one stands on this issue, it is good to see politicians “looking into” policy decisions instead of just spouting partisan talking points designed to oppose or demonize the opposition.
The truth is that neither the far left nor the far right represents most Virginians. And while I still might vote mostly Republican (at least they pretend to be conservative), I will vote for whoever is willing to put good policy ahead of party. Call it a vote for the people.
Punchbowl Shelter
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