Declaring that creative cooperation beats constant conflict, the former President captured -- in a nutshell -- why Carmona is the best possible candidate for the job to come along in a very long time. He has tackled large jobs and small for decades and has a knack for bringing people together to solve problems.
Of course, Carmona has his detractors (as noted in broadcast commercials funded by GOP related SuperPACs), but even those are grasping at straws these days. One criticism is that in 2002, under Carmona's leadership, the Pima County Health System went into millions of dollars in debt. Well, county hospitals are literally the provider of last resort and MUST provide medical care to all who seek it, regardless of ability to pay.
It was in 2002, if you recall, that Carmona was nominated by President George W Bush to become the Surgeon General. Carmona, despite whatever happened in the Pima County system, was confirmed unanimously by the Senate.
Clinton has been making the point about creative cooperation, apparently to every group he addresses, for some time. There can be no question and no doubt that Richard Carmona is well suited for doing that very thing in the contentious environment in D.C. Jeff Flake, on the other hand, is entrenched in the party of NO.
Arizona Capitol Times reported on the rally and Clinton's speech:
Clinton highlighted the ways that Carmona was given a helping hand from the government, namely in the form of the GI Bill and subsidized post-secondary education.
“If you believe in the legacy of the GI Bill that made this man, if you want there to be a 21st century, modern American middle class, with good education, you’ve got to vote for Rich Carmona for the United States Senate,” Clinton said.
Republicans, including Carmona’s opponent, U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, want to erode those institutions, Clinton said, to advance a minimal vision of government programs.
I am convinced that if the GOP, the Party of NO, takes control of the US Senate and the White House to go along with it's majority in the US House of Representatives, they will consummate the promise of Grover Norquist to shrink government to the size it can be drowned in a bathtub. And they will do it in no time flat.
Sending Richard Carmona to the US Senate will not, in and of itself, cure all the ills in America. But it will be an important move in the right direction.
And after next month's general election, the next big challenge -- for the American electorate -- must be to Amend the US Constitution to overturn Citizens United.
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