Why are there MD's in the Senate, mostly Republican??

[kentuck]

Can they not make enough money as a doctor? Did they run for office as a public service?

Or do they continue to be doctors when they are not Senators, which is a good part of the time? So they can collect their $170,000 a year Senate salary and still make money as a doctor but with less hours in the office. It's a pretty nice arrangement, I suppose?

[Nikki Stone1]

1. My guess: they overcharged for inferior treatment and relied on the Bible to cure ovarian cancer

They are one step ahead of the lawsuit.

[dembotoz]

2. healing people is less fun than fucking them over

[kestrel91316]

5. BINGO. And they want to jealously protect the money they have made.

Greed is a huge motivator.

[FBaggins]

3. I don't get the question

We have several multi-millionaires on our side (on both sides). Few of them went into the senate to make money (not ethically anyway).

I suspect the answer for the republicans (and at least a few democrats) is that it's about power... not money.

[KamaAina]

4. Well, Frist was a pioneer in the emerging field of telemedicine

he diagnosed Terri Schiavo from a video. :P

[cbayer]

6. I believe there are only two - Coburn and Barasso, both Republicans.

I think there are 12 more in the House - 8 Republicans and 4 Democrats.

It would be hard to draw hard conclusions from these small numbers. One thing may be that physicians that tend to become involved in politics probably get their starts in traditionally Republican dominated organizations like state medical societies, specialty societies and the AMA. These are excellent training grounds for politics and also often supply significant financial backing for physicians that wish to run for office.

I think that the speculation about their personal motives is not reasonable and find some of the responses to this question to be typical physician bashing. Much as I can't stand the Republican physicians in Congress and see them as traitors to their profession and their patients, I find the assumptions about physicians as a whole pretty unfair.

[Demoiselle]

11. Good points, cbayer...

My impression is that Doctors used to be pretty conservative, but not so much anymore. If you compare the positions of the AMA on health care reform with other doctor's organizations these days, I think you'll find many many doctors are now far more progressive on these issues.

[cbayer]

13. I agree. The AMA has been moving away from the Republicans in some very

significant ways and much faster than I ever thought they would. I would anticipate more Democratic and progressive physicians running for Congress in the future.

FWIW, in response to the question asked by the OP, I think that many, if not most, physicians go into politics for the right reasons, though some get corrupted by the power and greed just like any other member.

[kentuck]

14. i like your signline.

and also, your posts.

[KansDem]

7. Perhaps doctors may good companions for the health-care and pharma industries...

http://www.goodguide.com/contributions#sector=Computer/Internet&sort=total&query=

Take a look at who contributes to "Rs" in the "Pharmaceuticals" sector!

[Bigmack]

8. My ex... the hard-bitten ex ER nurse...

has a theory that docs.... especially specialists... spend so many years in schools and training, dealing only with medicine, that they are socially and politically retarded. Never been in the real world.

[LeftHander]

9. Dr. Greed made them run....nt

[cbdo2007]

10. Most doctors aren't as big a part of American history as Senators are.

Nor do they seem to have as much power or famous friends.

More to the point though....who gives a f*ck? Anybody can run for the Senate, from all different backgrounds, so asking why there are so many doctors in the senate is like asking, "why do some doctors drive Toyota Camry's? Surely they can afford a more expensive car than that..."

[kentuck]

12. But it may be of some import that they are all against public option?

None of them support the present health care legislation. Just sayin...