Roskam, Walter Reed, and Accountability

Rep. Roskam has a new marketing tool - video e-mails. This week he put his first of what sounds like will be regular video e-mails on his website (www.roskam.house.gov). The topic was the state of conditions at Walter Reed Hospital. Roskam felt he needed to personally witness the conditions there, and has pledged to visit some of the other VA hospitals where veterans from the 6th district are receiving treatment. In Roskam's video, he pledges to hold people accountable.

This whole fiasco of the Walter Reed report has brought to light some interesting issues that should pose as serious dilemmas for Peter and his party leaders. For example:

• As any of us who have worked in the governmental healthcare system can attest, the system is a nightmare. It's slow, inefficient, and often doesn't operate to provide services but instead often works to find reasons to disqualify people from services. I have had recent personal experience in this (not within VA, but other programs). In addition, facilities have always been notoriously bad, and quality of care has been suspect.
• The way this news emerged wasn't because of a conscientious military person or government official speaking up and saying "we have a problem here", but because of newspaper and media reports. Is it possibly true that 4 years into a war, not one high-ranking Bush Administration official visited Walter Reed to thank the patients there for their service, and saw the deplorable conditions? This just seems to be further indications of an administration disconnected from reality - something they deem necessary to keep the war going by denying the consequences of it on people's lives. And at what point do these folks turn to the media and say "thank you" instead of "screw you"?
• Roskam says he will step up on accountability. I suggest he not stop at those who are being singled out by the Administration, but continue to go up the chain of command. We have already seen low-raking officials take the fall for prisoner abuse problems in Iraq while those who set the tone for denying rights (Bush, Gonzalez) continue to hold sway and refuse to shut down Guantanimo (despite appeals from Def.Sec. Gates and Condi Rice). And now this, again holding lower-ranking officials accountable for instituting a policy of ignoring the painful consequences of war that is established at the very top. Remember, this President has yet to attend the funeral of one of the men or women he has sent off to die.

Peter pledges to those accountable for these conditions that congress will be watching. Peter also invites his constituents to use e-mail to communicate to him. Great idea. But will he truly listen and represent us, or give us lip service while remaining more loyal to Bush/Cheney? He had war protesters at his office this week, and says he listens to them, but does it matter? Only time will tell.