Thank you, Ed Gillespie!

Thank you, Ed Gillespie, you win the prize which I have been saving for the person who brings up what my father always brings up whenever we get on the health care topic.

My plan begins by addressing an anachronistic aspect of the tax code that’s rooted in World War II wage and price controls. Those who get health insurance through their employer get a tax break, but those who purchase it on their own generally do not.

Most people don't know that this whole practice of paying for employees insurance came about as the result of employers not being allowed to pay people above a certain amount. No, we're not making this up.

The Emergency Stabilization Act was passed in October 1942, which placed wages and agricultural prices under control. There were immediate wage restrictions, and in order to attract labor, the employers offered a range of such fringe benefits as pensions, medical insurance, paid holidays, and vacations. Because the foregoing were not paid out in cash, they did not violate the wage ceiling. Controlling output proved easier than controlling wages.

And I can't say I dislike the tax credit numbers. My family would save $7,500.00 per year which would bring us down to pre-Obamacare premiums. Imagine that. Back to Eddie G., the man of the moment:

Obviously, enacting legislation along these lines will require a Republican president. That will be more likely if over the next two years the Republican majorities in Congress pave the intellectual way through hearings and committee reports for a positive Obamacare alternative that the Republican presidential nominee can take to the electorate.

Yes. Let's hope.

Gillespie keeps fighting

Good for Ed Gillespie. It looks like he may have fallen short, but I'm glad he's not throwing in the towel early. He is so close — 12,150 votes! — and I think the hair-breadth margin should be kept in the news cycle for as long as possible.

“We’ve closed a big gap,” Gillespie said. “You know, when I got in, we were down 29 points to Mark Warner.”

On the campaign trail, Gillespie often pointed out that Warner has voted with President Barack Obama 97 percent of the time; meanwhile, Warner, argued that he had been an independent senator willing to work with both parties.

Gillespie ran an ad during Monday night football taking the side of the Redskins, the football team under attack by liberal politicians. “I’ll oppose the anti-Redskins bill,” Gillespie said in the ad. “Let’s focus on creating jobs, raising take-home pay, and making our nation safer, and let the Redskins handle what to call their team.”

Recently, Gillespie ran an ad accusing Warner of playing “politics with a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.” Gillespie also criticized Warner for using taxpayer-funded private planes.