On Saturday morning, about 12 hours before the U.S. House of Representatives passed sweeping legislation to expand health-care coverage to almost all Americans, President Barack Obama did what he does best: He gave an inspirational speech meant to rally recalcitrant House Democrats. Many in the room credited Obama with swaying the last of the fence sitters. "A few members that were leaning no told me afterwards that they'd been moved to vote yes," Rep. Rob Andrews, a New Jersey Democrat, told reporters after the meeting.
Obama spoke of doing something greater than yourself. He asked House Dems to join him in "bending the arc of history," a phrase he first invoked in his election victory speech a year ago before 125,000 people in Chicago's Grant Park. And though there was cheering and chants of "Fired up, ready to go!", this was no easy sell for Obama. The vote came the same week as Democrats lost the Virginia and New Jersey governors' mansions, and a day after the Labor Department reported a 26-year record unemployment rate of 10.2%. Preaching altruism in such a climate to politicians bent on self-preservation is tough. In the end Democrats lost 39 of their own - passing the bill 220-215 with a cushion of just two votes, one of those a Republican in a heavily-Democratic Louisiana district.
(Read "Understanding the Health-Care Debate: Your Indispensable Guide")
Democrats on Capitol Hill spent some of the aftermath congratulating themselves on their historic achievement, but they knew as well as anyone that it was far too early to really celebrate. Obama's speech, after all, was strikingly partisan, lambasting the GOP for doing nothing more than "saying no, stopping progress, gumming up the works." That change in tone from his fruitless attempts at outreach ten months before in the run-up to the stimulus vote made it clear that Democrats are now resigned to going it alone both in the House and the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid has moved away from the lone Republican still negotiating on health care, Maine's Olympia Snowe, and toward a plan to pass the bill relying solely on Democratic votes, of which he'll need every one in order to overcome the threat of a filibuster by Republicans.
"Democrats voted for the bill and a Republican voted for the bill. That is bipartisan," Pelosi told reporters at a midnight victory press conference to laughter. "We're proud to take responsibility — and credit — for the [bill] passed largely on Democratic votes. What we always try to do is to find common ground and tonight we're very excited about what we have done."
But the House vote showed just how hard it is for Congressional Democrats to pass anything on their own: the bill was nearly brought down by last minute objections from 64 pro-life Democrats who wanted to tighten restrictions to ensure that no federal funding of abortions could possibly occur as a result of the reforms. Likewise, in the Senate, Reid's toughest task in the coming weeks will be to convince moderate Dems to vote for a bill that includes a public alternative to private insurers in order to help keep down costs - a provision that Republicans have criticized as the first step to socialized medicine, and several key Democrats are wary of. Citing his concerns for the impact on the federal deficit, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut told Fox News on Sunday that "If the public option plan is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not" support the bill. The Senate is waiting on a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate this week before they bring up the bill. Reid's office is hoping to start floor debate as early as next week.
(See 10 players in health-care reform.)
Loading...
you people are so blind. this is a power grab and has nothing to do with health care.
the VA has hurt veterans and i have an inside story about how bad it has gotten.
vets are being purposely misdiagnosed with adjustment disorder when they have ptsd.
go back to mexico!!!!!!!!!!
gallynuts 2 years ago