Posted by
Roxanna M. on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 7:24:17 PM
As we all know, democrats control Congress. They can pass any kind of health care reform they want. They do not need Republicans. What they do need, however, is Republican votes so they can claim that whatever the final product is, it is bipartisan. What they really want is cover for when things go bad. "Don't blame us. Republicans voted for it, too".
So , who's really killing reform? Democrats, obviously. A small coalition (44, last I heard) of moderate democrats in the House won't vote for any bill that includes the "public" option. A larger coalition (100, last I heard) of liberal democrats in the House won't vote for any bill that doesn't contain the "public" option. With a 78-seat majority, all it takes is all Republicans and 40 democrats to kill a bill.
Things aren't any easier in the Senate. Max Baucus (D-MT) has just introduced a bill that has failed to win any Republican support and already has Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) saying he won't support it. As in the House, there are those who want a public option and those who don't.
Some background is in order here. Back in 2004 when Kerry was running for president and Romney was the governor of Massachusetts, good ol' Ted Kennedy demanded - and got - legislation that would have prevented Romney from appointing a Republican to replace Kerry had he won. Massachusetts is back in democrat hands and before he died, Kennedy was attempting to reverse the very legislation he had demanded.
As it now stands, there is currently no replacement for Kennedy, which leaves democrats at 59 and not 60, forcing them to use a budgetary maneuver that requires only 51 votes for passage. Harry Reid (D-NV) has called this a last resort.
And then, whatever comes out of the Senate will have to be reconciled with whatever comes out of the House and voted on again, as only one bill approved by both houses goes to the president for signature.
As I said before. Democrats own congress. They can do whatever they want. They cannot blame Bush for lack of health care reform. They cannot blame Republicans for lack of health care reform. They have only themselves to blame for whatever does - or doesn't - happen.
Not a place they like to be.
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P.S. In a meeting with congressional democrats, Obama mouthpiece David Axelrod stressed the need for party unity on the issue and said that passing health care reform would give them a "boost" in the 2010 midterm elections. In an even bigger example of denial, the White House claimed to have "no knowledge" of the plans for 9/12 in DC. Kinda scary.