Someone needs to thank Bill Simon for his recent article against tort reform. Far too few Republicans will come out against tort reform because out Commander-in-Chief is for tort reform. While I support our President on the vast majority of his agenda, I cannot support his view on tort reform.

Tort reform didn't work in California in the late 1970's, as the malpractice rates tripled anyway between 1978 and the late 1980's. The only thing that did occur was a big financial windfall to the insurance companies. Is there a malpractice crisis in Georgia and other states? Well, physicians' premiums have increased and yes, the physicians are justifiably upset.

The issue here that is so terribly wrong is that the insurance lobby is telling the Georgia legislature that the trial attorneys are the cause of the problem, and that, quite simply is not true. The insurance lobby should publicize their losses, say for the past ten years so that the general assembly can see for themselves that losses paid out have not "been astronomical" as the losses have in fact, been normal and predictable. What the insurance lobby will not say is that their losses and financial troubles stem from their financial losses in the stock market and not from some abnormal losses in court.

Imagine, if you will, the insurance lobby going before the public and saying that they want to increase rates (capping losses will financially increase their bottom line) because of their losses in the stock market. The public would laugh at them, as we in the public, have also suffered our losses in the stock market. The insurance lobby, however, will stand before the legislature and assert that the lawyers are the problem instead, without proving their case or making any showing that, indeed lawyers are the reason for said malpractice rate increases.

The insurance lobby seeks a rate increase by dangling the lawyers in front of the legislature and thereby invoking some inherent hatred of attorneys, an emotional response, when rational thought is necessary. Do we hurt attorneys if the legislature caps economic damages,...or do we just just hurt people who have been injured catastrophically? When a patient has the wrong eye removed during surgery in a local hospital by a physician, who is a good person but just made a mistake, can we honestly say that person is made whole by $250,000.00. Did we hurt the lawyer by capping damages or did we hurt the patient. Folks, the lawyers are not the problem.

I am a Republican, but our President does a disservice to Republicans and Democrats alike, when he refers to Mr. Edwards, a Democrat Presidential hopeful and trial attorney from South Carolina, as an "ambulance chaser." Mr. Bush, it seems, seeks an emotional response from the electorate rather than a rational thought process, just as the insurance lobby does on tort reform.

The doctors do have a problem with increasing malpractice rates, but the true solution should reside with the truth and not one based on a lie. Let the public see the loss in dollars experienced by the insurance carriers, and then vote by a rational thought process versus an emotional one.

The Republicans need to be heard on this issue and Bill Simon, God bless him, should be thanked for writing an editorial, that speaks the truth, rather than "toe the party line."

Richard Yancey
A Republican and born and bred native of Cobb County