Burnt Orange Report

Prop Updates

By Byron LaMasters

I'll be making endorsements on the remaining amendments shortly. So far, I have endorsed a NO vote on Prop 12, a YES vote on Prop 11 and a NO vote on Prop 3.

Stout Dem Blog has made endorsements on each amendment. I would tend to agree with him with most of his suggestions, but I want to research them more fully before I make a blanket endorsement.

The Curmundgeonly Clerk did a good overview of the controversial Prop 12, which is one of the amendments which Texans will vote on in the upcoming September 13th election. Once again, The Burnt Orange Report has endorsed a NO Vote on this Proposition. Curmudgeonly Clerk brings up an interesting point. He seems to be inclined to support the idea of caps on malpractice non-economic damages, but thinks that the amendment is too broad. Remember, Prop 12 would not only enable the legislature to cap non-economic damages in malpractice settlements, it would enable the legislature to limit non-economic damages in all areas of law.

The Curmundgeonly Clerk also did a good round-up of Texas bloggers on the topic. Grunt Doc argues in favor of Prop 12 because, well, "Doctors and my malpractice carrier are for it, and Trial Lawyers are against it". I would argue that instead of blaming trial lawyers, we should go after the malpractice insurance carriers that are artificially inflating rates. Off the Deep End has a little bit more of a creditable arguement. We do have an insurance crisis in this state, and Phil is right that "152 counties in Texas have no obstetrician, partly because OBs have higher malpractice premiums than other doctors". I would argue, however, that instead of a gut reaction to just blame the trial lawyers, we should actually look at the real problems. Insurance companies are artificially inflating their rates. And, a very, very small percentage of doctors (6%) are responsible for one-half of insurance payouts. The solution? Crack down on the insurance companies and get doctors to better discipline the very small percentage of doctors who are irresponsible. It's unfair that all doctors have to pay for this and if we decided to look at this problem constructively, I'm confident that a bipartisan agreement could be reached. Rangel MD probably makes the best arguements in favor of Prop 12 that I've read. I still stand by my endorsement, but if you're interested in reading a well-informed and thoughtful arguement in favor of Prop 12, check him out. And of course, there's the far right wing folks who remind us to be aware of Prop 12 opposition. I know... those darn liberal Democrats.

As for others opposing Prop 12, Begging to Differ has many of the same concerns that I have about the proposition - the vague wording, the odd date of the election, giving the right-wing legislature more power and the constitutional questions. A special thanks to Half the Sins of Mankind for their link to my endorsement Against Prop 12. They agree with me. Finally, The Sake of Arguement adds a little humor to the case against Prop 12. He points to a case where doctors removed a man's penis because they "removed his penis and testicles without consulting him after they mistakenly thought he had cancer." Well, it's not really funny. Seriously, I'd like more than $250,000 for my penis. I find it rather important, and value it at greater than $250,000. But that's just my opinion...

Finally, The Curmundgeonly Clerk points to some newspaper endorsements, which I'll go through at a later time. Anyway, I'm glad that The Curmundgeonly Clerk took the time to research blogger reaction to Prop 12. I guess I have some blogroll updating to do...