Courtesy of Sue Lowden: A chicken in every doctor's pot

By Eugene Robinson
WashPost
Friday, April 30, 2010

If you haven't heard the name Sue Lowden, brace yourself. She is a Republican who might well become a U.S. senator from Nevada, and judging by her idea for containing health-care costs -- critics call it "chickens for check-ups" -- she threatens to make Sarah Palin sound like some kind of pointy-headed policy wonk.

Yes, I said chickens.

There is a larger point to be made about the kind of thinking, or non-thinking, that Lowden exemplifies. But first, it's my duty to recap her perilous foray into health-care policy, which sounds like a good premise for a Monty Python sketch.

Lowden, a wealthy gambling executive, leads the Republican field in the primary campaign for the right to challenge the Democratic incumbent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. She's a former Nevada state senator, a former head of the state GOP, a former television anchorwoman and a former Miss New Jersey. Polls show her leading Reid by at least 10 points.

(More here.)