“You can give me some money for migraine research.”

by David Safier
Cindy McCain is a migraine sufferer. I believe her episodes are incredibly painful, even crippling at times. I wish there were some medical treatment that would bring relief to migraine suffers, whoever they are, wherever they may be. I say that even though I don't suffer from them, and neither do any of my close relations. I just don't like people to be in pain if it's preventable.

Recently, Cindy has turned into a crusader for government funded migraine research. I don't remember her campaigning for medical research to alleviate other painful or life threatening diseases, nor do I remember her advocating for government spending on other make-things-better-for-people issues. But this is her pain, so she, in the best conservative fashion, understands it and wants someone to make it stop.

Here's a quote from Cindy in a New Yorker piece.

Give me some money. She ridicules money spent to prevent environmental damage by using the joke line, "flatulence in
cows," to make it sound like the money for me is far more important. Who cares about cow farts? She doesn't even bother to couch her personal desire for relief in a more general "for migraine sufferers everywhere." I hurt, therefore I care. If you hurt, that's your problem, not mine.

I'm not the kind of person who wishes bad things on people. But part of me thinks, if some dire problem caused by our broken health care system happened to every Republican in Congress or to a close family member, maybe they would pass health care reform legislation "for me." Because they're sure as hell not going to help pass it out of concern for others.