Ted Bobrow

Health reform takes a blow, but it ain’t dead yet

By - Jan 21st, 2010 07:58 am

The election by Massachusetts voters of Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate certainly adds another challenge to President Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress’ efforts to enact comprehensive health care reform. But to say that it was a referendum rejecting reform is not based on any facts.

Let’s not forget that Massachusetts has a very popular and comprehensive health care program, passed during the tenure of former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney and supported by then-state Sen. Brown. One of Brown’s talking points on the campaign trail was that Massachusetts took care of the problem and shouldn’t be taxed to extend its program to the rest of the country.

And while elections matter, let’s not forget that candidates are judged on more than just their positions on policies. Candidates must demonstrate that they understand the lives of their fellow citizens and care about the same things they do. For Democratic candidate Martha Coakley to be confused about who Curt Shilling is, is the equivalent of Scott Walker not knowing who Donald Driver is. Wouldn’t happen and if it did, he’d probably never win another election in Wisconsin.

Shilling is not only a revered former player for the Boston Red Sox who was a key figure in the remarkable run to the 2003 World Series victory (after a drought of Cubbian-proportions), but he is an active spokesperson for conservative causes and candidates. Coakley’s faux pas was guaranteed to drive hoards of political neophytes to the polls to avenge their hero.

As for polls, combine the people who support the efforts of Congressional Democrats on health care reform with those who don’t think it goes far enough and there is a majority of Americans who want change. Forty percent or so may disagree but they aren’t a majority and 41 seats in the Senate does not a mandate make.

So let’s all take a deep breath and see how this plays out. I also suggest we take a few minutes to listen to what President-elect Obama said on a cold night in Grant Park about 15 months ago.

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

“There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.

“I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.”

My question to those who are gloating about Brown’s election is, “Will you join in addressing the challenges facing our nation or are you content to sit on the sidelines and merely obstruct?”

We will be watching Republican members of Congress, including Senator-elect Brown, to see if they are part of the solution or part of the problem. Elections await all of you, too.

Categories: Gray Matter, Politics

0 thoughts on “Health reform takes a blow, but it ain’t dead yet”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Ted Bobrow offers an lucid and inspiring piece following the huge setback in the Massachusetts race. It’s a shock to a see Ted Kennedy–who fought four decades for universal healthcare–replaced by a callous pro-corporate ideologue.

    However, I would also argue (as I do on my regular blog at http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5453/tuesdays_message_to_dems_which_side_are_you_on/) that the Democrats nationally failed to disinguish themselves from the from the insurance and drug lobbyists swarming around them.

    Further, from my interviews with Massachusetts-based Dr. Steffie
    Woolhandler of Harvard Medical School, it is clear that the Massachusetts health “reform” plan places a heavy burden on moderate income families required to pay for unaffordable health insurance. (The articles where I discuss the Masschusetts pplan are on my website at http://www.zmag.org/zspace/rogerdbybee)

    The Masschusetts model is no model for the nation, as it leaves the insurers–who plan only a parasitic role that offer interferes with the provision of healthcare–in command of almost our healthcare system (except for Medicare and VA., where the level of care is better and administrative costs are a fraction of the 31$ imposed by for–profit insurers.

    We need to keep in mind that the motives of the insurrs are directly antithetical to healthcare–they maximize profits by minimizing treatment. Genuine reform must begin with the elimination of for-profit insurers as the leading force in provision of healthcare.

    Best, Roger Bybee

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