Vote for those who want to fix things

I hope you didn’t skip Dr. Larry Donohue’s guest commentary in the March 15 Herald, “Medicare works; open it to everyone.” It’s brief and, in my estimation, spot on. I won’t discuss it here; please take time to read it.

The reason for my letter is the way that commentary connects to Dana Milbank’s column (in the same paper) on the apparent lack of Democratic challengers to Hillary Clinton. The article describes former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor Martin O’Malley’s efforts to represent himself as someone who has been successful at making government work, but not in attracting interest in himself as a presidential candidate.

We’ve elected too many to Congress who aim to ensure government does not work. The mess they’ve made of governance makes anyone believing it can work seem foolish. So the notion that Medicare could become the basis for providing quality health care for all of us is hard for many to accept.

But it need not be that way, and that’s why the lack of interest in someone like Mr. O’Malley is so disheartening. Elected officials, committed to making government work for all of us, can do great things. It’s up to us to find them, elect them, and finally to hold them accountable. Failing to do that, we’re faced with Dr. Phil’s ever damning question, “So how’s it working for you?”

Paul Olafson

Snohomish