Martin Hoke: “I hope the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Doggett], my colleague and good friend, the previous speaker, had a chance to read…”

“I hope the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Doggett], my colleague and good friend, the previous speaker, had a chance to read the Washington Post editorial yesterday on the Medicare or Medi- scare debate. The liberal paper of record applauds Republicans because we have ``forcefully taken the right position on the basic issue of controlling costs'' and it chides the Democrats, like my good friend from Texas, for not playing a ``constructive part in the Medicare debate.'' Boy, they could not have gotten it better and more right on point. It says, ``The Democrats denounce the Republicans for proposing to gut the programs, but they have no serious counterproposal; not the Democrats in Congress and not the President either.'' It continues, ``They,'' the Democrats, ``risk squandering for political reasons a chance to tame these programs that everyone agrees need to be tamed. What if they chose to help instead of using the issue to score political points?'' That is the liberal Washington Post speaking. How about it, my Democrat colleagues. How about it my friend from Texas. Why not put an end to this partisan posturing and join us in an effort to save Medicare from bankruptcy. ____________________”