Summer's over and my head hurts

Although the two aren't related.  I was just thinking that it was official, Autumn is definitely here because I felt the urge to turn the furnace on this morning (it was 64 in the living room when I came stumbling down the stairs heading for the coffee pot), and then I heard Nebraska Congress critter Lee Terry in the background.  And he was saying something that had my jaw dropping. 

I never agree with Lee Terry.  He's one of the Congress critters that comes across (at least to me) as smarmy beyond belief, another one of the vacuous Herb Tarlek-types who slither the halls of the Capitol while spouting platitudes about the sanctitude of life and family values. 

So what shocked the bejesus out of me?  Terry is introducing an amendment to the healthcare legislation that would make the same type of cafeteria insurance plan (the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan) senators and congress persons enjoy available to everyone in the country.  He stood there agreeing with ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson that the complaints about Congress not wanting ordinary folks to enjoy the same sort of health care they did were totally valid, and the FEHBP should be available to anyone who wants to opt into it.

Of course, Terry being a Republican I'm sure there's a catch somewhere, probably in the financing details, but, still, I'm stunned.  Lee Terry said something that superficially sounds good.  I'm also totally suspicious, of course.  Because it is Lee Terry.  And it's Nebraska, the heart of the heartland, a state so red it bleeds.

[I will concede that much as I dislike Terry, he's smarter than he looks.  He went on the Colbert Report very early in the history of that show, before politicians had had much of a chance to size it up and figure out exactly what Colbert was up to, and actually displayed more wit than I thought he possessed.  He may exude used car salesman vibes, but he's definitely not stupid and does have a sense of humor.]