The war against health care reform was essentially lost by the Republican Party on Monday night, when all fifty-eight Democratic Senators and two Independents voted to end Republican attempts at endless procedural delays (i.e. filibuster). This comes as a great victory for the Obama Administration, who has worked tirelessly with both parties to craft a bill that would best serve the needs of the American people. Very early in the process of developing a comprehensive health care reform bill the Republicans made it clear they had no intention of giving Mr. Obama a political victory, even if it meant a continuation of sky-rocketing health care costs, and twenty-seven million Americans left without insurance or access to affordable health care. It is anticipated that a final bill will be given to the President for his signature by Christmas Eve. At that point, the Republican propaganda machine that has blitzed the airwaves for almost a year with mis-truths and scare tactics will be effectively shut down.
If nothing else, the process of enacting health care reform, which is clearly supported by the majority of the American people, has shown that a super-majority of sixty Senate votes are required to overcome obstructionist tactics on the part of the Republican Party. In essence, the power to enact significant legislation has passed to a few Senators (e.g. Joe Lieberman), whose swing votes were garnered by making major concessions to important provisions within the bill. A lasting legacy of the 2009 health care reform debate will most likely be anger among partisans on both sides of the aisle. The Republicans will continue to say that their opinions were ignored, and they were left out of the process. The Democrats will continue to say that Republicans refused to participate in the debate out of fear of giving a political victory to President Obama.
Fortunately, the health care bill, although not perfect, will be a good beginning to the process of reforming the industry that provides an essential service to the American public. The new legislation will set the stage for further reforms and fine-tuning that will be needed as time goes by. The conservative, reactionary voices on the right will no doubt continue to rant and rave for some time about how much better off we would have been if the insurance companies were left alone to provide health care insurance to whoever thay wanted, at whatever price they wanted, for whatever period of time they deemed appropriate. These voices will eventually become silent, however, just as they were when America first enacted Social Security and Medicare.
—Rich
Tags: affordable health care, christmas eve, comprehensive health care, comprehensive health care reform, democratic senators, filibuster, health care bill, health care costs, health care reform, healthcare, indus, joe lieberman, obstructionist tactics, partisans, political victory, propaganda machine, reactionary voices, reform debate, republican attempts, Republicans, scare tactics, senate votes, swing votes
Hi Cher, hope you are well, and will enjoy the kind of holiday you like. Cenk Uygur said, and I quote
” Having private insurance is like having the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head. You never know when they are going to deny you care or for what reason. You never have peace of mind that’s supposed to come with insurance. Because their goal is not to treat you, it’s to make money off of you.
I don’t blame them; that’s the way the system is set up. That’s why the system is wrong. This bill tries to regulate that system, but it winds up reinforcing it because it strengthens the underlying structure by making private insurance companies even larger.”
Does this mean it doesn’t matter if the Republicans do shut up now, because they have won a result for the insurance companies anyway.
Just asking, it doesn’t affect me but I am interested. Bob
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I call a party buying votes with hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes being on the “Wrong side of history” and it’s not the GOP that did it. The American people are against Obama/Pelosi/Reidkare and no Republicans will vote for it so when payback time comes around it will be sweet. The only problem is this country will be bankrupted by greedy ideological Democrats more interested in bringing the pork home for their states than in lower healthcare costs or expanding it. The way the bill has moved through Congress also violates Obama’s cherished pledge to have a transparent process as nobody has time to read a 2,100 page bill before a 1am vote.
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Bob said: “Does this mean it doesn’t matter if the Republicans do shut up now, because they have won a result for the insurance companies anyway.”
The insurance companies love the Reid bill…they get 31 million new mandated customers. Pretty sweet deal.
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I can see from your comments section that the propaganda machine is still at work.
This bill won’t be perfect, but like you said it has to start somewhere.
It’s sad that both parties won’t concede victories to one another even when it benefits the people that voted them in.
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bob,
I don’t have a problem with privately held insurance companies, as long as there is a well-regulated, competitive environment within the insurance industry. This has not been the case in America, where insurance companies maintained virtual monopolies in certain regions. The new care bill should bring down costs, increase competition and provide a mechanism for the millions of uninsured Americans to obtain coverage.
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Harrison,
The American people are, in fact, very supportive of health care reform. The Republicans have shown total disregard for the will of the people by stone-walling health care reform for highly political reasons. The filibuster-happy Republicans will be held responsible for their disgraceful behavior when election time rolls around.
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One of the Guys,
I would really love to see the political parties co-operate for the benefit of the American people. Unfortunately, it probably won’t happen with this particular Congress. The Republicans are more ideas-bankrupt than ever, and have fallen lock-step in line with their philosophical leader, Rush Limbaugh. The filibuster is the new way of doing things with the Republicans. Sad!
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VH,
The insurance companies may have scored a temporary victory due to the elimination of the “public option”; however, they will not win in the long run. Health care reform will become a reality very soon, and the insurance companies would not have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Republican campaign funds if they wanted it to happen.
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I’m amazed at how much Conservatives seem to despise this country. Anytime government wants to help people or reform corruption, they cry “Communism” or “Socialism”. Did they never attend a civics class? Do they not realize that a Republic-form of govt trying to help or reform is different than a totalitarian state enforcing their will and crushing people who have no vote or voice? I believe it is possible for the American government to do something effectively and efficiently if we don’t constantly castigate them and underfund the effort. The GOP refuses (chooses?) to see that our form of govt is different and capable of more.
It’s unconscionable what Lieberman and Nelson did to this bill. But it can be fixed. To defeat this bill now would push health care reform back another two decades. This imperfect and flawed bill is just the very beginning. Pass it, and the work of health care reform begins. (And the GOP knows this.)
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Guess you don’t read many polls, do you?
Here are NINE different polls of Americans on healthcare “reform” and not ONE has even 50% approval.
http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....-1130.html
Time to re-think that statement.
So let’s put it this way… if a majority of Americans are AGAINST healthcare “reform” then which party should be listening to the PEOPLE?
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Hi Cher,you keep battling for healthcare.What’s more important to your people? A strong military or a healthy nation?
As an outsider it seems to me that those who oppose care for the poor are those who would rather see the money spent in Area 51.
American tax payers do not know how much or on what this black budget is spent.
Mr Obama has an opportunity to divert tax dollars to areas that improve the lifestyles of ordinary Americans and not those who benefit from the killing machine.
America can best serve it’s allies by taking this route.
The morality of peace is the greatest weapon in the World.
Happy Christmas my friend.
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It doesn’t take much effort to find polls that will support your position. Here are a bunch that support health care reform. Undoubtedly the most accurate statement would be that the public is divided on it depending on the time you ask them, how your phrase the question, and what happened in the news the day before the poll was taken.
Another fact to remember, Harrison, is that polls often ignore the fact that a chunk of opposition to the current plan comes from those who support reform, but would like to see Congress go further. A late-November AP/Ipsos poll found nearly identical numbers in favor of the bill (34%) and opposed (35%), without describing its content. A crucial 12% initially say they oppose the plan, but told pollsters their opposition was based on their belief that it did not go far enough. So what initially appears to be a 12-point margin against reform is actually an even division. But we get it. You’re against it.
Time Mag poll
USA TODAY poll
Christian Science Monitor poll
CBS poll
New York Times poll
Reuters poll
AFLCIO poll
AFLCIO poll
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Carpetbagger way to go! Most of those polls were from June! A few from a couple of months ago. The NINE polls I posted were from this week.
Thanks for proving my point… if you go back in time 4-7 months ago there WAS support. Too bad that’s all gone now.
Try again.
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Carpetbagger said: “It’s unconscionable what Lieberman and Nelson did to this bill.”
No, it’s not. They are acting just like the self-interested agents that they are and it is not surprising at all that their interests conflict with the preferences of the general public. You contradict yourself when you chastise conservatives for being against a big, powerful government but yet you consider it “unconscionable” that some politicians are carving out sweet deals for themselves at the expense of everyone else. I suppose that you also believe in a “free” lunch?
To accept this bill as it stands, it opening the door to future wealth for lobbyists and special interests, is reckless and naive. If citizens are willing to damn the details to assert their political world view then, in the long run, we will get what we deserve–a very expensive health care mandate that does little to reduce costs and makes lobbyists very happy.
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Democrat Chris Dodd got $100 million for U Conn to build a hospital, Democrat Nelson got a promise that his state wouldn’t pay for any more Medicare cost increases. Democrats are selling whatever isn’t nailed to the floor. Terrible.
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Harrison,
You say “Democrats are selling whatever isn’t nailed to the floor”. What a great line! I must admit that the deal with Nelson was a bit odd. I can’t wait to see what 2010 will bring.
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They are selling the nails, too (after they tax them).
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Harrison,
Obviously I found polls from last June, July, Sept, and Oct to prove my point that the public has wanted health care reform throughout the election (Obama campaigned on it and won) and afterward. The closer we get to a bill, the more people get turned off by the process. That’s natural. Same thing happened with Social Security, Medicare, and Civil Rights legislation. You get the best bill you can and then you fix it. Do you expect Dems to windsock with every shift in public opinion?
Were you for health care last summer when the public was for it? Or did you go against public opinion?
Did you vote for Obama when the majority of the public voted for him. Or did you go against public opinion?
Pork spending stick-ups are repugnant, but have a rich history on both sides of the aisle. Check the 2005 Highway bill. According to the Cato Inst, pork spending exploded ten-fold from 1995-2005.
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Once we have a bill signed, a law in place, we can proceed to build on what’s been achieved.
Republicans are showing just how in thrall they are to the more reactionary forces they’ve fed for the dog fights. What could be a ‘moderating’ party is a caricature of every retrograde impulse possible: the plutocratic manipulators, the nativist know-nothings, the dogmatic religionists, the militarists.
Here’s to a greater swerve toward the ‘social democratic’.
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I’ve never before been so involved in a big issue like health care, so I’ve never paid such close attention to the process before. But I can recognize a victory when we’ve achieved one. It passed – tattered and bloody but it passed, and we’ll build on it. And if nothing else, attrition will slowly have its way, leaving room for more Obama-like politicians. We just have to work like crazy to get those lazy Democrats out for the next elections. The battle may be over but the fight continues.
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