An Open Letter to Craig McPherson ...from your biggest fan

Thank you.

Thank you for renewing my faith in the American political system, for showing me that there are still principled, intelligent men of character willing to make the personal sacrifices required of those who choose to run for office in today's climate. Unlike most in the arena today, your motives are pure - you seek to serve for the good of the country, not for personal aggrandizement. I didn't believe such people existed any longer, and will be forever in your debt for proving me wrong.

Thank you for allowing me to share this amazing journey. You have taught me more than any professor and found strengths and abilities in me that even I did not know I possessed. You have challenged me to be and do more than I would have thought possible, not through pressure or demands, but through your leadership, inspiration and quiet inner strength. I will never understand how you came to possess centuries of wisdom in your relatively few years, but will always be grateful for having had the opportunity to be a small part of your story.

Thank you for the countless hours it must have taken to amass the incredible body of knowledge you possess regarding the founding and history of this great nation. I share your love of America and your deep patriotism, but lack your dedication. You did not become the man you are today through luck, charm, or special favors, but through hard work and self-discipline, qualities which are rarely found among your generation. You evidence a respect for America's greatness that is a tribute to a forgotten time - a time which was all but forgotten even when I was a child, when personal responsibility and mutual respect were as commonplace as they are now exceptional.

Thank you for giving new meaning to the phrase, "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." You have played by the rules, consistently, even when no one was looking and you might have gained much by bending them a little.

Being associated with your campaign is an enormous honor for me. Whatever the outcome, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Thank you.

Might the Tea Party Actually Be the Culmination of King's Dream?

by Craig McPherson, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives (KS-03)
July 13, 2010

With Michelle Obama's comments yesterday and the NAACP's resolution condemning "racist elements of the Tea Party" likely to be passed today, it seems clear that branding the Tea Partiers as racist or at least intolerant is a strategy that the left intends to pursue to mitigate electoral damage this November.

The touchstone of this allegation has been, of course, the symbolic march of the majority party through the Tea Party protest on the afternoon of the House Health Care vote. The procession of government officials through private citizens was supposed to, I guess, represent the victory of freedom and equality over tyranny and racism. The irony here is that government power has been the greatest institutional facilitator of racism in our nation's history.

Many remember, of course, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision for America in his majestic “I Have a Dream” speech. Fewer, however, quote the factor which drove him and hundreds of thousands of others on that sultry August afternoon.

“So we’ve come here today…to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.”

The great question facing the Republic today is just how big is that check and can we or any state possibly carry enough in its account to cover it? Is the check for liberty, freedom, and equality under the law? Or does it also cover the government guaranteed right to a fair wage, home ownership, protection from economic fear and unemployment, health insurance, carbon neutrality, a religion free public square, a college football playoff, and whatever else those with 50% plus one of the vote believe to be good for us?

It is clear that our founders and the giants whose shoulders they and King stood on believed only in drafting checks you can cash.

In writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson borrowed heavily from John Locke, a Christian political philosopher who suggested that God rather than man or government was the source of our rights to life, liberty and property.

Alexander Hamilton explained, “the sacred rights of mankind…are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature by the hand of the divinity itself and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power”. Our government was put in place by a social contract of the people, who consented to cede a limited amount of their sovereignty to that government so as to have those God-given rights protected.

In his first inaugural address, President George Washington stated that “the foundations of our national policy would be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private (i.e. not government) morality”.

The unifying thread for The Tea Party movement is a modest expectation for what government can guarantee and immodesty in their expectation for what free people of good will can achieve.

Perhaps because this thread runs to the core of who America has always believed herself to be, The Tea Party movement now is being embraced by long time Democrats and long time Republicans, those with high levels of education and those with little education, those who have never before participated in political events, and political veterans. Although there are obviously some leaders who are trying to bring organization to the movement, by and large, events and protests are driven by those citizens willing to stand, even in the rain, to convey their message.

Despite how they have been portrayed, according to Gallup, members of the Tea Party are a remarkable cross-section of American life, diverse, taken as a whole from society at-large. This is surely a sign that The Tea Party movement has tapped into something deeply rooted in the American experience.

There is another story about King: that after the march from Selma to Montgomery he sat in the Montgomery airport and looked around the terminal, taking note of the incredible diversity of people there who had marched with him—white, black, young, old, rich, poor, Northerner, Southerner. This encouraged King and was a sign to him that the Civil Rights movement had moved beyond its original bounds and on was its way to becoming something truly socially redemptive and transforming. King’s name for this was the “Beloved Community.” And it was within this diverse community where America’s ultimate hope lay not with the government against whose oppression he marched from Selma to Montgomery to oppose.

We are again in the midst of a great civil debate about the nature and character of freedom and liberty. One party believes that government is our best hope, that they are the ones we’ve been waiting for and that good intentions make for good government. This is not what has made the American spirit so strong. America’s greatness has always been in her people not in her programs. America’s greatness has been in the town square and the fellowship hall, the small business and the Rotary Club, the Church and the school on the corner. It’s the spirit that flows from these, which truly governs America and makes her great.

King went on to say that promissory note was a guarantor to the inalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. I do not want to speculate about where Dr. King would fall politically today. But the King of 1963, whose life had been one long struggle against government encroachment, thought to only mention negative rights that day under the shadow of the Washington Monument. A decent home, a fair wage…may have been on King’s mind that day—but as he looked over the assembled crowd, his request for a better society was mainly for government to set them free.

By the way, those marchers too were accused of being violent, unruly and race-baiters.

How Will Yoder Vote?

By David Losey
July, 6, 2010

Any venture into predicting how an elected representative will vote is rife with uncertainty. It is so uncertain that one might question the sanity of anyone who might attempt such a task. However, I will attempt to bring some sense of clarity to this issue by looking at a critical factor that will shed some light on what can be expected from Kevin Yoder should he be elected to Congress.

That critical factor is who is financing his election. Knowing who is financially supporting his campaign will reveal a great deal about how he might vote if elected. Determining how he will vote on specific issues is extremely important because we need to know if he will represent us or will he represent special interests who financed his election. Voters of the 3rd District should be especially sensitive to this lest we get into the same situation like we did with Dennis Moore who ignored phone calls, faxes, e-mails, and letters from his constituents and repeatedly voted for more spending, more debt, and more government control over our lives.

The scope of this article will be to predict with some certainty how Yoder will vote on bills that come before Congress regarding the repeal and/or modification of the current law, the Affordable Health Care For America Act. The likelihood of this happening is high because the law was written in such a manner that it left a lot of details and regulations to be determined at a later date. For instance ... “Congress left it to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to craft the guidelines for what is acceptable expense for use in the medical loss calculations and NAIC committees are working to have those written by the end of July” according to Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, who chairs the NAIC committee that is drafting the guidelines. “One of the subcommittee's working on this is still haggling over how to define these things,” Praeger said. (http://www.khi.org/news/2010/jun/28/health-reform-without-cost-control-unsustainable-i/.)

I have previously reported that Cerner, Corp. has contributed over $11,500 to Yoder's campaign. Cerner is an international information technology health care corporation located in Kansas City, Mo. It is the leader in HIT (Health Information Technology) that will be at the forefront of putting everyone's health information in electronic form so that all health care providers, insurance companies, and government agencies can access it. It has considerable financial interest in this with an estimated $2B of stimulus money coming its way. It, also, estimates that the CPOE (computerized physicians order entry) system has a potential revenue of $8-10B (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Mzg3MTMxfENoaWxkSUQ9Mzg5NTE1fFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1)
This order entry system “includes embedded alerts and protocols that help providers make the best care decisions.” ( http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/08/24/story3.html?b=1251086400^1971701)

(Note: Who sets this protocol? What are the penalties for not following the protocol? Reduced payment? Does this mean that you and your doctor no longer determine your treatment? What about those with serious health issues or terminal illnesses? Do they get treatment?)

Cerner's revenue for 2009 was $1.67B. The stock price in March, 2009 was below 40 and traded above 90 in April, 2010. This represents a paper profit of over $250M for Neal Patterson, Chairman and CEO. This is big business! Cerner, as a corporation, and Mr. Patterson and the other executives, as individuals, have a great deal to protect! Is it any wonder that they would want to have a friend in high places to protect their interests? A friend who would vote in such a manner that would benefit them.

They are clearly not in the habit of wrecklessly spending money. Their investments are made wisely and prudently. It is, therfore, not too far of a stretch of the imagination to speculate that their investment in Yoder's campaign is done with the hope of having such a friend.

If one were inclined to dismiss this as an isolated case let me assure you it is not! I will briefly recap others in the health care and related industries who have contributed to his campaign.

1. One donor is HMS. It is the strategic source for innovative cost containment solutions that benefit government and commercial healthcare programs. One of their main objectives is to make efficient and appropriate use of public healthcare funds. In a time of economic recession HMS reported the following exceptional financial growth.

Q1 2010 Revenue of $65.0 million (+30%y/y), Net Income of $7.6 million (+33% y/y) and EPS $0.27 (+29% y/y) 2010 EPS Guidance Increased to $1.38 from $1.34 (+27% y/y)

2. Health Management of Kansas provides a full range of long-term care services. The scope of its operations include in-home service to 1250 Home Care clients, two Assisted Living facilities, a 171 bed skilled nursing facility in Coffeyville which includes 43 Special Care Alzheimer’s beds plus a 60 bed skilled nursing facility in Iola. Other services provided to aged and disabled clients include two transportation programs, outpatient therapy, adult day care, respite care, weekend Meals on Wheels, community education programs and support groups. The Executive Director has contributed to Yoder's campaign.

3. A member of management for Visiting Nurse Association made a contribution. VNA provides quality home health care to Kansas City and the surrounding metropolitan area regardless of the patient's ability to pay.

4. A member of the American Academy of Family Physicians also made a contribution. It has joined other leading physician associations in establishing Principles of Reform of the U.S. Health Care System as a guide to help Congress to improve both individual health and the collective health care system in the U.S.
Among them are
a.) Health care coverage for all is needed to ensure quality of care and to improve the health status of Americans.

b.) The health care system in the U.S. must provide appropriate health care to all people within its borders, without unreasonable financial barriers to care.

c.) Access to and financing for appropriate health services must be a shared public/private effort.

d.) Cost management is critical to attaining a workable, affordable, and sustainable system.

e.) Comprehensive medical liability reform is essential to ensure access to quality health care.


5.The owner of S & S Drugs has also contributed. This Drug Store business also delivers medical supplies and equipment to all of North Central Kansas.

6. Lockton Companies has given nearly $10,000 to Yoder's campaign. It is the world's largest, privately owned, independent insurance brokers. It is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. and specializes in creating comprehensive and integrated benefits strategies for clients.

In addition to the six companies detailed above the following companies' corporate executives or management have contributed to Yoder's campaign.

• Menorah Medical Center
• Forest Pharmaceuticals
• Health Care Financial Advisers
• United Bioscience
• Discover Vision
• Durrie Vision Centers
• Haake Insurance Cos.
• Biomedix Vascular Solutions
• Farmers Insurance
• MW Pulmonary Consultants
• Peppes Dental
• Delta Dental
• Childrens Mercy Hospital
• Medicis Pharmaceuticals

How significant are the contributors cited in this article? The three industry groups represented (Health Professionals, Insurance Cos., and Computer/Internet) have a combined total of over $29,000 in contributions representing over 10% of total contributions (as of March 31, 2010 according to opensecrets.org) . Combined they represent the third largest industry behind Lawyer/Law Firms and Finance/Credit Cos.

On his web site Yoder states,

Fourth, I will work to repeal portions of the Obama/Pelosi Healthcare Legislation that will drive up costs, increase the deficit, grow bureaucracy and lower the standards of health care that Americans expect. I support making healthcare more affordable for all Americans. But what I can’t support are pieces of legislation rammed through Congress that will raise our taxes, increase insurance premiums, and promise to make drastic cuts in Medicare. Americans deserve better than this bill. I will work to re-write this act and build true health care reform that focuses on free market competition, patient choice and high quality of care.

To his credit he sounds like he is going to take a stand against Obamacare. But upon further review it is clear he only wants to repeal portions of Obamacare. Mr. Yoder, which portions do you support? Do you support the electronic entry of every American's health information into a system that can be viewed by all health care providers, insurance companies, and government agencies. Do you support protocol that will dictate how a doctor can prescribe care? Do you support cost controls that will be needed in order to have a sustainable system but will of necessity result in rationing? Do you believe that sufficient taxpayers' funds must be made available to cover every person within our borders whether they are legal or illegal residents? How can coverage be expanded without increasing costs? In 2014, Medicaid eligibility will be expanded to include all adults earning 133% or less of the federal poverty guidelines. How will this be done without increasing taxes?

A major concern that Mr. Yoder fails to address is the fact that mandated universal health care for all Americans is unconstitutional. No where in the Constitution does it allow for the federal government to require citizens to buy something and penalize them if they don't! Mr. Yoder, I would expect that anyone who wishes to represent the people of the 3rd District would know the enumerated powers listed in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution. This is what restrains the federal government and dictates what it can and cannot do! Mandated government health care is not one of them! One final question, Mr. Yoder. Will you follow the Constitution and vote accordingly or will you be persuaded to vote as the special interest groups who financed your election dictate?

In conclusion, there is one basic economic fact that Mr. Yoder does not seem to grasp. In order for health care to be available for all current residents of the United States, health care costs will increase, the deficit will increase, government bureaucracy will grow, rationing will occur, taxes will increase, insurance premiums will go up, and there will, by necessity, be cuts in Medicare. It appears obvious! Mr. Yoder, like his predecessor, wants to tax, tax, tax and spend, spend, spend! It looks like Moore of the same!