Nevada Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-NV) has proposed providing a $20,000 federal tax credit to encourage doctors to practice in rural areas.
In defense of the potential expense to the federal government Gibbons said
“Yes, it’s going to be expensive, but having no doctors in a critical time of need will be far more expensive.”
An impressive realization from a member of the Republican Party, but Democratic Party officials claim that the move is politically motivated.
Gibbons is expected to run for Nevada governor next year, but has yet to announce his candidacy. […] A state Democratic Party official suggested Gibbons’ news conference Thursday in the state’s second-largest city was politically motivated.
“This is supposed to be about rural doctors,” party spokesman Jon Summers said.
I’ll admit that holding a new conference about rural doctors in the second-largest city in the state doesn’t quite strike me as the brightest political move, but nonetheless the charge that Gibbons’ move is politically motivated is interesting. If by politically motivated they mean that Gibbons is responding to a critical issue in the state because he is running for office, then I hope we see more such “politically motivate” moves from all candidates no matter what their party affiliation.
If Gibbons fails to act on his rhetoric that’s another story.