Oakland Press: Opposition to Knollenberg well founded

GUEST OPINION

Opposition to Knollenberg well founded

Bruce Fealk of Rochester Hills, is a businessman and local political activist.

Last month the Oakland Press editorial board took me to task for my recent guest column about Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfi eld Hills.
The board and Knollenberg’s professional letter writers focused entirely on the wrong issue. I wasn’t criticizing Knollenberg’s urging women to do self exams and to get their mammograms.
My point was the hypocrisy of Knollenberg sponsoring a health conference for women when he has such a terrible voting record on health issues. Knollenberg has a 0 rating from the National Breast Cancer Coalition and voted against expanding a successful government program that provides health care coverage for millions of low income children (SCHIP). Knollenberg did vote to extend the program. Even when the majority of his colleagues voted to expand the program to cover an additional 10 million children, Joe voted against it.
The issue for millions of Americans is that they don’t have any health-care coverage. Families across Oakland County and this country live in fear that they will have a major health issue that they won’t be able to afford to get treated because they have no insurance.
Knollenberg’s “wellness” proposal won’t help those people.
Oakland County residents are hurting because of $4 gas, lack of health coverage and an uncertain economy. The Bush/Knollenberg economy is a dismal failure.
Knollenberg should start talking about issues that really matter to Americans, like a health care program that makes it so that every American can take their children to a doctor.
Health care should be a right in America, not a privilege of only wealthy congressmen and women.
Knollenberg should do something about the outrageous profits of America’s oil companies that continue to rip Americans off at the pump and the speculators that are driving prices up, regardless of supply.
He should think about what it does to our soldiers being sent into a war zone three, four and five times and what it does to their families.
Knollenberg should vote for funding to screen every soldier for posttraumatic stress disorder so we can try to prevent the unprecedented number of suicides being committed by our soldiers.
He should vote to stop funding a war that our president lied us into and is charging hundreds of billions on our Bank of China credit card to support. Our great-great-grandchildren will be working to pay off that debt. Republicans have not been fiscally responsible.
Those are some of the real issues. Why isn’t Knollenberg talking about them?
Why won’t Knollenberg come out in public and let his constituents ask him about his record on important issues and his plans to solve the problems facing them?
Knollenberg has had almost 16 years to make the lives of his constituents better. My life isn’t one bit better.
Other people have noticed Knollenberg’s voting record on health care issues, too:
2007 American Academy of Family Physicians gave Knollenberg a 0 rating;
2007 Children’s Health Fund gave Knollenberg a 0 rating;
2006 American Public Health Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 rating; 2005-2006 AIDS Action Council rated Knollenberg with a 0 rating; and 2005-2006 American Nurses Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 percent. Those are failing grades in anyone’s book. Disclaimer: I do not work for MoveOn.org or Knollenberg’s opponent.

BRUCE FEALK