Dan Gelber vs. Mel Martinez

Florida House Minority Leader Dan Gelber took Mel Martinez to task for calling SCHIP "socialized medicine."

"...As Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I recognize your role and responsibility to defend and endorse President Bush’s legislative agenda, including his opposition to the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan. However, the rhetoric of “entitlements” and “socialized medicine” seems designed to fire up the President’s political base rather than honestly helping your colleagues figure out how to fix a system that has left more than nine million American children without health care. Ironically, your position hurts Florida more than nearly any other state as only Texas has a higher percentage of uninsured children than we do. .."

Martinez should pay attention to what is going on in his neighborhood. 5,805 children in Broward County rely on Kidcare. Part of it's funding comes from SCHIP. Florida's Kidcare program has a 700,000 waiting list. The state does not have enough money to provide healthcare for poor children. To deny children healthcare is cruel. Martinez voted no on SCHIP. That says much about where his priorities are.

Update: Gus Bilirakis voted no on SCHIP.