Kansan Refuses to Be Victim

This letter to the editor today is a must read in the Topeka-Capital Journal. Apparently, this Kansan was used in a column awhile by back liberal and former Congressman Dr. Bill Roy. Roy portrayed this man as being a helpless victim and a reason why we should simply give in to government run health care. Liberals LOVE to use people and their unfortunate stories for their political gain. However, this citizen not only stands up for himself, but refuses to play the victim. We will let Mr. Asher speak for himself.

Surprise, surprise, I somehow garnered the attention of a political figure as important as Bill Roy when I attended Rep. Lynn Jenkins' town hall meeting in Holton. Never did I imagine he would want to write about me in his Sept. 19 column in The Topeka Capital-Journal.

I am honored. But let's look a little closer at what Roy had to say in his column, just to set the record straight.

It is true that I am a dialysis patient, although I am 49, not 45 as Roy said in his column. I hate that my treatment is paid for by the government. Yes, I said hate. The more the government pays, the more control it wants. And that control will be between you and your doctor. Is that the kind of care you want?

I don't think the government will do a good job with my medical care, and I talk from personal experience. I don't think that if 47 million people were added to the ranks of the insured that we would have enough medical personnel to care for them all. Finally, I don't believe a government that can't run the post office efficiently, that can't run Cash for Clunkers correctly, should run medical care, which will cost us trillions of dollars and amount to 1/6th of the total budget. Would you?

So you see, Bill Roy, I may have lost control of my medical treatment, but I have not lost the right to voice my concerns about the direction some in Washington, D.C., are trying to take us. And I will be at the voting booth each and every year to cast my ballot for those who believe as I do.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet you, Bill Roy. The next time we meet, I hope you won't feel the need to write about me just to pen a column to support your views - views that if they become policy will hurt this great country and run up a debt that our grandchildren will never be able to repay.

MATTHEW S. ASHER,

Holton