Dear editor:
This missile is a word of caution to the possible unwary readers concerning political statements.
In the case of our new governor, we find someone who is very good at using words to make himself sound like a reasonable, moderate-acting leader -- but he is not a moderate.
Words can be very deceiving -- notice all the word scams on TV, for example. I taught "word study" for 47 years in high schools, colleges and two universities. I have five earned degrees in the subject, and I know the same false use of words occur today as in the past, perhaps even more so.
Our governor, for example, in addressing his Medicaid advisory council, told them " ... Sometimes you need to have your determined point of view and your convictions tempered with political reality."
He used these words to make it appear that he wants a thoughtful approach to "the Private Option" of the ACA, or as some call it, "Obamacare."
What he is really saying is that even though the program delivers health insurance at a reasonable cost to 250,000-plus Arkansans who never had any, and although everything financially points to the success of the program, a program that comes in under cost estimates that lessen yearly and works for poor people and for hospitals, lowering their costs, we should really listen to the emotions of Arkansans who turn off at the mention of "Obamacare," even though they may be totally misinformed. One must read a great deal to get the full story, not just see a barrage of negative comments on TV.
Words are cheap, indeed. Another example is the matter of the "religious freedom" law recently passed by our new Legislature (a matter that Alabama, of all states, wisely put on the back burner). The governor did not sign it, but he also did not veto it; nor did he request the legislators to remove it. He simply asked them to revisit it and make it conform to the national law about discriminating against religious belief. However, he still supports the Arkansas ban on same-sex marriage and a state employment policy that permits discrimination against the LGBT group.
The governor may want to "have his cake and eat it too," but that is a difficult feat. He is walking the tightrope of pleasing his GOP tea party mindset and trying at the same time to appear so thoughtful. Some of us are not so dense that we cannot see his slick move. And they called Clinton "Slick Willy!" My Cherokee relatives call that "man with two tongues."
John W. "Doc" Crawford
Hot Springs
Editorial on 05/27/2015