Friday, June 28, 2002 | 9:37 a.m.
Well, the answer is the Republicans don't want one -- they only want to be able to say, in an election year, that they proposed one -- just enough to get them past the election.
In a nutshell, the Bush plan is absolutely worthless when you get past all the drug-industry written rhetoric.
So obviously no Democrat worth his salt will vote for it.
And no Republican, who wants to keep his membership in the "mean and selfish club" and who wants to continue receiving campaign contributions from the drug companies and insurance industry, will vote for the Democratic plan.
The Democratic plan will actually cover all seniors and not just the poorest, who get drugs from Medicaid anyway.
It is the real thing, integrated into Medicare, while the Bush plan merely gives money to insurance companies in the hope they will offer coverage.
How Republicans can say with a straight face -- when the state gives people drugs it is socialism, but when the state gives insurance companies money to give people drugs it is just pure old capitalism -- is beyond me!
Oh, well, what can you say about a guy stupid enough to trade Sammy Sosa?
DANIEL OLIVIER
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