I've voted for Democrats going back to the days of St. Ronnie the Blessed. I was even a precinct chair for a while (not much to do there in Portland, Oregon). Nor am I a concern troll. But right now, I have had it with Obamacare, specifically its local version Cover Oregon. Today the Oregonian reports that Covered Oregon has backlog of 30,000 unprocessed paper applications.. The reason why they're unprocessed paper applications is because the idiot website www.coveroregon.com does not work. I know because I tried it. You don't get a 404 message, instead you're told (as best I can remember):
It seems something went wrong.
Yeah, something went wrong alright. This thing is a wreck. It's hideously complex. A small sample. You have to have submitted a 19 page "application" by December 4. Website don't work, so you have to send it in by mail or fax. Don't expect any confirmation of receipt however. Then, the agency is supposed to send out an "enrollment" form to you, which has to be submitted back to the agency by December 15, 2013. So far, only 730 persons have actually been able to navigate this process.
But it's far far from the end of the problems, which are numerous and serious. Just one sample from the Oregonian (Bruce Goldberg is the new director after the old one took "medical leave" -- no problem getting insurance coverage for that, I'm sure.):
Another 13,150 individuals face losing their portability plans, designed for people with pre-existing conditions who lose their coverage at work. Goldberg, at the end of an interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting's Think Out Loud on Monday, seemed unaware of their plight.
"Let me look at the portability issue," he said in response to a caller's question. "I'm really not familiar with it."
Better get damn well familiar with it, fast. Governor Kitzhaber, whom I voted for (three times), says:
"I'm certainly willing to be held accountable for the fact that everybody who wanted coverage by Jan. 1 is not going to get it," Kitzhaber said.
This is unworthy of you, John. You're the freakin' governor. You're a
medical doctor. Of course you'll be held responsible. That's part of the freakin' job!
You want my vote, Democrats? -- earn it. Right now, you ain't.
Oh, and by the way, don't tell me about Republican obstructionism. This is Oregon where both houses of the legislature and all statewide offices are held by Democrats.