The majority of Easley Progress readers who responded to last week’s Progress Poll online hope that the United States Senate is able to stop the healthcare reform bill from becoming law.

Just over 74 percent of the voters said the senate should not pass the bill. The remaining 26 percent were in favor of the healthcare bill.

“The government is made up of people who basically are not smart enough to hold a real job, politicians included,” one reader said. “I don’t want them making my healthcare decisions.”

Another was afraid of the mystery behind the bill. “Even its supporters can’t really tell you what is in the bill,” he said. “If they cannot lay out exactly what this bill doe and does not do, I say throw it out and start over.”

Another reader said the bill was too big of a step for the public to digest at one time.

“Civil rights bills failed for years because politicians tried to accomplish too much at one time,” she said. “When they finally started taking smaller steps, they chipped away at civil rights and eventually bought about a significant change in America. That’s the way we need to approach healthcare.”

Others feel that those opposed to the healthcare reform bill are being fooled by advertising campaigns sponsored by the nation’s insurance industry.

“I’ll bet the insurance guys are laughing at this,” one reader said. “People are actually fighting for their right to pay higher insurance premiums. What’s next? Picketing the gas stations for selling for less than $5 per gallon?”

Jim Clark says it’s a shame that people who claim to be Christians could be so self-centered in their political views.

“I see for profit health insurance as boiling down to this: the people who are healthy and working — who have health insurance — are telling those who have lost theirs ‘That’s tough, that’s your problem. We don’t care about you!’” Clark said. “At the very least this is poor Christian ethics. What ever happened to the Golden Rule? Does Matthew chapter 7 mean anything today?”