The Health Care Bill Is Dead
BY Fred Barnes
January 20, 2010 12:30 AM
The impact of Republican Scott Brown’s capture of the Massachusetts Senate seat held for decades by Teddy Kennedy will be both immediate and powerful. Itâ??s safe to say no single Senate election in recent memory is as important as this one.
Here are a few of the repercussions:
- President Obama is weakened. For the third time in three months, he couldn’t deliver for a Democratic candidate. Last November, he abetted the defeat of Democrat Creigh Deeds in the Virginia governor’s race and failed to prevent Democrat Jon Corzine’s ouster as New Jersey governor. Now in Massachusetts, his appearance for Martha Coakley was a bust. A president who canâ??t aid his party’s candidates loses influence with Congress and inside his party.
That’s not all. Obama’s agenda, chiefly health care, took a beating in Massachusetts. In fact, it was the chief cause of Coakley’s defeat. Without the intrusion of national politics, she would have defeated Brown. But Obama and Democrats in Washington have created a hostile environment for Democratic candidates even in liberal and Democrat-dominated Massachusetts. So thereâ??s a double whammy for Obama: he canâ??t help if he personally shows up to campaign on behalf of Democrats and his policies are ruining their chances of being elected.
- Independents are lost to Democrats, at least for the time being. In 2006 and 2008, they fled Republicans in large numbers and facilitated Democratic triumphs for the House, Senate, and White House. Now they’ve staged a mass migration to the Republican camp. In Massachusetts, where they make up half the electorate, they overwhelmingly voted for Brown. This followed the 2-to-1 advantage they gave to Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey last year.
Democrats may win them back, but not if they stick with the liberal policies–especially the unbridled spending and $1 trillion deficits–of Obama and congressional Democrats. These are killer issues among independents. Perhaps it will take another unpopular Republican administration in Washington to push them toward Republicans again. And that is years away.
- In the midterm election in November, Republicans are poised to win 25 or so House seats. But it will take a net of 40 to take control the House. For this, they need more open Democratic seats, which are easier to win than incumbent-held seats. Brown’s victory in Massachusetts is a good bet to scare many more Democrats into retirement.
If a Republican can win in Massachusetts, why not in Missouri or Pennsylvania or a solidly Democratic state like New York? Last week, Democrat Vic Snyder of Arkansas announced his retirement, citing the political climate as the reason. It’s an anti-Democratic climate.
- Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is the new king of Capitol Hill. His skill in keeping 40 Republicans united against Democratic health care reform was masterful, and it wasn’t easy. A number of Republican senators are drawn to co-sponsoring or at least voting for Democratic bills. Not this time.
By keeping his minority together, McConnell put enormous pressure on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who had to keep every Democrat in line to gain the 60 votes need to halt a Republican filibuster. On health care, it meant he had to make unseemly deals with a host of senators, most egregiously in the Medicaid payoff to Nebraska to appease Senator Ben Nelson. Reid got the votes, but the deals were political poison.
- Oh, yes. The health care bill, ObamaCare, is dead with not the slightest prospect of resurrection. Brown ran to be the 41st vote for filibuster and now he is just that. Democrats have talked up clever strategies to pass the bill in the Senate despite Brown, but they won’t fly. It’s one thing for ObamaCare to be rejected by the American public in poll after poll. But it becomes a matter of considerably greater political magnitude when ObamaCare causes the loss of a Senate race in the blue state of Massachusetts.
Then there’s the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists some version of ObamaCare will be approved and soon. She’s not kidding. She’s simply wrong. At best, she has the minimum 218 votes for passage. After the Massachusetts fiasco, however, thereâ??s sure to be erosion. How many Democrats in Republican-leaning districts want to vote for ObamaCare, post-Massachusetts? Not many.
Pelosi met with House Democrats yesterday to tell them how the negotiations on a compromise health care bill between the House and Senate were going. As she spoke, one Democratic member whispered to another, “Itâ??s like talking about your date on Friday, but the dateâ??s in the emergency room.” ObamaCare went into the emergency room in Massachusetts and didnâ??t make it out alive.
It’s a formulae that will keep this Country in a mess.
-
People get angry.
-
Congressional and Senate seats are won, lost and kept.
-
We end up with continued partisanship and gridlock.
-
Nothing changes.
Whoopee…
Mufasa
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
It’s a formulae that will keep this Country in a mess.
-
People get angry.
-
Congressional and Senate seats are won, lost and kept.
-
We end up with continued partisanship and gridlock.
-
Nothing changes.
Whoopee…
Mufasa[/quote]
And I’m glad for that. Nothing sweeping should happen quickly. Our system is designed with checks and balances to prevent such action.
We’re a republic, not a democracy.
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
It’s a formulae that will keep this Country in a mess.
-
People get angry.
-
Congressional and Senate seats are won, lost and kept.
-
We end up with continued partisanship and gridlock.
-
Nothing changes.
Whoopee…
Mufasa[/quote]
But that’s part of the essentially conservative genius of the system. That’s a good thing. Only if something REALLY needs to be changed can the votes be cobbled together.
Barney Frank on how to proceed: Frank: Must Rule Out Effort To Pass Health Bill As If MA Election Had Not Happened | RealClearPolitics
I never stated anything about “quick” change; but was alluding more to the need for fundamental change in our Government and the way it operates.
What “sweeping” change is about to happen? The GOP gains seats?
Again…whoopee…
Mufasa
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
I never stated anything about “quick” change; but was alluding more to the need for fundamental change in our Government and the way it operates.
What “sweeping” change is about to happen? The GOP gains seats?
Again…whoopee…
Mufasa[/quote]
The sweeping change is that we now have a chance to stop the Pelosi-Reid-Obama mafia. To me this is all about obstruction in favor of the will of the people, pure and simple.
Mufasa my dear man. I am a very small government conservative, One of my good friends is a true wingbat liberal. We argue politics all day and all night. Last night I was laughing at him over the democrat loss and he was crying about how healthcare is so important and now it’s gone forever. I felt a little bad for the poor chap so I tried to reason with him a little, after all I’m not a republican and I do actually want all americans to prosper.
What I said was, “hey, why does either side feel the need to jam some huge malformity of some good some bad and some pork down our throats. Why cant they work on small incremental changes that both sides already agree on, get those in place, let there be an improvement and then there would be less pressure to pass some huge change because things would work better.” He was like well what do we already agree on that they could work on." I said, “Hey, How about Tort reform?” I knew this was an issue he agrees with me on because right at this moment someone who he sued because they owed his small business $1300 bucks, just counter sued him for $5,000 in emotional trauma. I’m dead serious, they said while his guys were working they kept looking at thier house and cars and were talking on thier cell phones making them feel like prisoners in thier own homes while the work (landscaping) was being done.
Anyway, he agreed that tort refrom was something that needed to happen. So I said, ok well if democrats think tort reform will make things beter, and republicans think tort reform will make things better, shouldn’t they work on a bill that they can both actually pass and say, hey we cut down the amount of bullshit lawsuits which are saving small businesses and big businesses millions upon millions of dollars per year. Also your insurance rates are going to go down now because the insurance companies aren’t spending extra millions and millions defending people they insure in frivolous suits.
Thats when I let it sink in a little and hit him with the truth. THEY DON’T WANT TO HELP US! They want us divided it’s clear as day, both sides want tort reform, both sides could agree on a bill in a very short time and get it passed. The bill would do A LOT of good to reinforce personal responsibility to our country and waste less money. Well of course lawers would get hit in the pocket, does anyone know a fucking poor lawer?
V
I can’t wait to hear what “I’m a gibbering sockpuppet” Gibbs has to say today.
Other things I can’t wait for: Obama’s first press conference since July; and his State O’ the Union.
Bring out the popcorn!
One thing is there are fundamental differences in how conservatives and liberals view things. Many people like your friend just have not thought stuff through. When I hear people talk about various issues, hard core democrats will complain about personal responsibility, taxes to high and such. Gun control and other issues. then they are surprised that certain elected officials do this stuff.
To many don’t check the voting record on bills.and what legislation actually does. the cost. Was it effective and so on.
example : app. 20 years ago Florida started a concealed carry law. The anti gun crowd predicted chaos. the gun advocates disagreed. they were right, and proof is there. So why do they not change their minds? Micheal Barone wrote and editorial about how he was wrong.
Why doesn’t the media go back and report what people said and what happened with legislation? Again, it’s accountability. You wouldn’t go to a restaurant were you repeatedly get bad food. you wouldn’t go to a doctor or contractor who botched multiple jobs.
Peopele need to pay better attention and the media needs to watch words and actions better.
[quote]Vegita wrote:
Mufasa my dear man. I am a very small government conservative, One of my good friends is a true wingbat liberal. We argue politics all day and all night. Last night I was laughing at him over the democrat loss and he was crying about how healthcare is so important and now it’s gone forever. I felt a little bad for the poor chap so I tried to reason with him a little, after all I’m not a republican and I do actually want all americans to prosper.
What I said was, “hey, why does either side feel the need to jam some huge malformity of some good some bad and some pork down our throats. Why cant they work on small incremental changes that both sides already agree on, get those in place, let there be an improvement and then there would be less pressure to pass some huge change because things would work better.” He was like well what do we already agree on that they could work on." I said, “Hey, How about Tort reform?” I knew this was an issue he agrees with me on because right at this moment someone who he sued because they owed his small business $1300 bucks, just counter sued him for $5,000 in emotional trauma. I’m dead serious, they said while his guys were working they kept looking at thier house and cars and were talking on thier cell phones making them feel like prisoners in thier own homes while the work (landscaping) was being done.
Anyway, he agreed that tort refrom was something that needed to happen. So I said, ok well if democrats think tort reform will make things beter, and republicans think tort reform will make things better, shouldn’t they work on a bill that they can both actually pass and say, hey we cut down the amount of bullshit lawsuits which are saving small businesses and big businesses millions upon millions of dollars per year. Also your insurance rates are going to go down now because the insurance companies aren’t spending extra millions and millions defending people they insure in frivolous suits.
Thats when I let it sink in a little and hit him with the truth. THEY DON’T WANT TO HELP US! They want us divided it’s clear as day, both sides want tort reform, both sides could agree on a bill in a very short time and get it passed. The bill would do A LOT of good to reinforce personal responsibility to our country and waste less money. Well of course lawers would get hit in the pocket, does anyone know a fucking poor lawer?
V[/quote]
Thanks, V!
I’m with you in this thinking!
I guess that I’ve been through enough governmental “musical chairs” and “one-upsmanship” to not think that a lot of deck-shuffling is going to make much difference in the long run.
It’s all about power and self-preservation, isn’t it?
Mufasa
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
[quote]Vegita wrote:
Mufasa my dear man. I am a very small government conservative, One of my good friends is a true wingbat liberal. We argue politics all day and all night. Last night I was laughing at him over the democrat loss and he was crying about how healthcare is so important and now it’s gone forever. I felt a little bad for the poor chap so I tried to reason with him a little, after all I’m not a republican and I do actually want all americans to prosper.
What I said was, “hey, why does either side feel the need to jam some huge malformity of some good some bad and some pork down our throats. Why cant they work on small incremental changes that both sides already agree on, get those in place, let there be an improvement and then there would be less pressure to pass some huge change because things would work better.” He was like well what do we already agree on that they could work on." I said, “Hey, How about Tort reform?” I knew this was an issue he agrees with me on because right at this moment someone who he sued because they owed his small business $1300 bucks, just counter sued him for $5,000 in emotional trauma. I’m dead serious, they said while his guys were working they kept looking at thier house and cars and were talking on thier cell phones making them feel like prisoners in thier own homes while the work (landscaping) was being done.
Anyway, he agreed that tort refrom was something that needed to happen. So I said, ok well if democrats think tort reform will make things beter, and republicans think tort reform will make things better, shouldn’t they work on a bill that they can both actually pass and say, hey we cut down the amount of bullshit lawsuits which are saving small businesses and big businesses millions upon millions of dollars per year. Also your insurance rates are going to go down now because the insurance companies aren’t spending extra millions and millions defending people they insure in frivolous suits.
Thats when I let it sink in a little and hit him with the truth. THEY DON’T WANT TO HELP US! They want us divided it’s clear as day, both sides want tort reform, both sides could agree on a bill in a very short time and get it passed. The bill would do A LOT of good to reinforce personal responsibility to our country and waste less money. Well of course lawers would get hit in the pocket, does anyone know a fucking poor lawer?
V[/quote]
Thanks, V!
I’m with you in this thinking!
I guess that I’ve been through enough governmental “musical chairs” and “one-upsmanship” to not think that a lot of deck-shuffling is going to make much difference in the long run.
It’s all about power and self-preservation, isn’t it?
Mufasa[/quote]
Hopefully peoples anger isn’t towards the dems, because thats NOT where it should be focused. It should be focused at Both parties adn specifically any member of congress who has voted for big government. THAT is what is messing up our country. I think Brown had a pretty good small government message. Was it libertarian? Not really, but at least it sounded more OLD school Goldwater and Ragen conservative. I’ll take those conservatives back any day.
I am hoping that a LARGE number of Democrats and Republicans Lose thier house and senate seats in the next elections. My hope is that more modearate and small government people win the seats and can then usher in an era where government focuses on small incremental improvements. Bill that are 10 pages long instead of 1000. Have people be able to read and understand what the government is doing. Have the fucking representatives be able to read and understand what they are doing. I know it’s pie in the sky, but I’m hopeful. And I’m not happy about Browns win because it helps the Repubs and Hurts Dems, I’m happy because It hurts Big government and helps small government.
I want a very good and efficient, small governemnt, not a Giant unfunctional one.
V
http://www.sacbee.com/846/story/2475438.html
This is a good opinion peice on why americans are really angry. The governemnt is allowing this to happen, or worse, helping it along.
V
A case example that needs to be remembered is that one day there was happy announcement that the Senate bill was “dead” because the Socialist senator from Vermont (Sanders?) swore he’d never vote for it as it wasn’t progressive enough or some such thing, and the very next day, well surprise surprise!
Sanders got the payoff he was angling for and his oath and his indignation against the bill became a forgotten memory.
It may be that some Congressmen now saying they will never vote for the Senate bill actually mean it: from others, well, their lips were moving.
It would be great if the Senate bill really won’t pass the House, but to claim that as being a done deal or a decision actually made is not valid.
“…I want a very good and efficient, small government, not a Giant non-functional one…”
I’m with you, V! But will it ever happen?
I have to reiterate (and you alluded to it in your Post)…this is not simply a DEM of GOP issue.
And contrary to popular dogma…they BOTH know how to tax, spend and enlarge Government.
Mufasa
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
“…I want a very good and efficient, small government, not a Giant non-functional one…”
I’m with you, V! But will it ever happen?
I have to reiterate (and you alluded to it in your Post)…this is not simply a DEM of GOP issue.
And contrary to popular dogma…they BOTH know how to tax, spend and enlarge Government.
Mufasa
[/quote]
Well the ONLY way it is going to happen is for US the VOTERS to put people in who promise they will fight to srink government. If they do not hold thier promise, based on thier voting record, we vote them out and vote in another who makes the claims they will lower governemnt spending. I know there is people out there who actually will vote they way they say they will, Ron paul is one for an example. I’m not saying everyone has to be just like ron paul, but if you say you are going to make government smaller and more transparent, you beter do it. Ultimately though, it our burden, to fire people who perform badly.
V