And you seriously claim that good ideas winning out over bad ones had something to do with the results? You could elect Satan for governor if the campaign finances were that one-sided.

And financed by the insurance companies. Tom, you are starting to become a serious insurance company flunky.

<a href=http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_1105_election_health_measure_23.1def5988.html<Universal health care measure fails
11/05/2002

By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer

Oregon voters took the advice of the health insurance industry on Tuesday to overwhelmingly defeat an initiative to make Oregon the first state in the nation to offer free tax-financed medical care for everyone.

With 43 percent of precincts counted, Measure 23 was being defeated with 488,234 "no" votes, or 79 percent, to 126,267 "yes" votes, or 21 percent.

Mark Nelson, who managed the $1.2 million campaign against Measure 23 that was financed largely by health insurance providers, said voters were not ready to take a chance on sweeping change.

"I think people are concerned about access to health care and the cost of health care, but they don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater," said Nelson. "They see a system they believe needs to be constantly reformed and modified, but not by throwing it entirely out the window."

Health Care for All Oregonians campaign chairman Mark Lindgren said he was undaunted by the defeat and planning to try again in 2004.

"It took decades to free slaves and give women the right to vote," said Lindgren.

J.L. Wilson, Oregon state director of the National Federation of Independent Business and a point man for the opposition, conceded there was a deep resentment among Americans toward their health care system. But voters did not appear ready to risk an expensive overhaul.

"When you are talking about $12 billion in additional taxes, $7 billion coming from employers payroll taxes and $5 billion from increased personal income tax rates, that's a heck of an obstacle to have to overcome," said Wilson.

Measure 23 grew out of a coalition of groups and individuals who wanted better health care. Backers raised less than $50,000, which went to last-minute television ads. The volunteer campaign was run out of a car owned by 22-year-old campaign manager Dan Isaacson.

Isaacson's aging vehicle ran into a professional campaign financed by $1.2 million put up largely by health insurance companies. Opponents hammered on people's fears about raising taxes, government ineptitude, and people moving to Oregon to take advantage of free health care.

Oregon's has a history of trailblazing initiatives: the nation's first bottle deposit bill; physician assisted suicide; and land use planning. But the legacy was not enough to exorcise the ghost of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 1994 failed attempt at creating a universal health care plan for the nation.

The measure came to a vote after Oregon's dependence on income taxes was strained by recession and the highest unemployment rate in the nation, forcing deep cuts in schools, prisons, and police.

The grass-roots nature of the campaign showed up as organizational weaknesses. Supporters could not convince the AFL-CIO, senior citizens or doctors that they would be better off trading higher taxes for no insurance premiums, Lindgren said. And including coverage for alternative health care, such as massage therapy, made them an easy target for ridicule.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)