I was surprised to learn that McCain and Palin belong to the Maverick Party, which has nothing to do with the Repupubican Party that has controlled government for the last eight years. The Maverick Party is above the partisanship that became so much more intense in 2000. This is well illustrated by McCain nobly "suspending" his campaign so that he could return to DC in triumph to rescue the economy from the woes produced by those nasty Republican deregulators. Unfortunately, the Maverick Party took credit for a rescue bill that failed because of McCain's lack of influence with the Republicans.The Maverick health care plan is modeled on the great success of their financial plan. It involves taxing your employer-paid plan to drive healthy young workers into the tender care of the free market. That will drive up the cost of employer-paid health care for the rest of us, which will drive up your taxes. I can get individual health insurance at a reasonable rate, about $1000 / month. The coverage isn't as wide as what my employer provides, but it is acceptable. My wife has a pre-existing condition that does not require expensive treatment and has low probability of getting worse. Washington state has a law requiring that private health insurers provide coverage to everyone. My wife can get insurance in the free market, but it would cost over $4000 / month.
A maverick is an unbranded steer. With the Republican brand not selling well, it is not surprising that McCain and Palin prefer not to wear it.
It is merely coincidence that most of the Maverick Party's proposals are identical to the Republicans. Their greatest difference from the Republicans can be seen in the environmental area, where McCain is in fact more centrist than most of the Republicans. Oops, that is only half of the Maverick Party, since Palin does want to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.We can be assured that Maverick Supreme Court picks will be every bit as qualified as Ms. Palin.Just as the Mavericks think that you can fix global warming without understanding its causes, they think that they can fix the Republican mess by not looking back at it. Their tax cuts for millionaires will be partialy funded by taxing workers' health care. They favor "victory" in Iraq without specifying how that looks different from "surrender" in Iraq. We need a Maverick in the White House as much as we need a bull in a china shop.
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