Sometimes "losing" actually is winning in disguise. We may see a classic example of that today.
The Senate Finance Committee is preparing to vote on their final draft of the health care reform bill. The committee is comprised of 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans, but all the attention is focused on one lone vote. How will Senator Olympic Snowe (Republican - Maine) vote? So far, in all the other proposals generated by other committees, not one single Republican has voted for any improvement measure. They've stayed tight, in unified support of official policy to protect health insurance companies from any attempts at reform. But Olympia Snowe is a different breed of Republican from the pure wingnuts now in control of her party. She's a moderate, something they have little tolerance for, and we can be assured that her party's leadership has placed her under withering pressure to tow the party line on this vote. We'll know the answer to how she'll vote before the day ends.
It would seem on the surface that having any Republican accept the obvious need to fix a broken system would be a good thing, even if it's just one vote, but sometimes things aren't always what they seem.
If Senator Snowe casts her vote in support of her committee's bill, then it's probable that the merged bill that eventually will make it to the floor for a vote will be a compromise bill, diluting some of the portions that would truly make it a piece of landmark legislation bringing long overdue reform to a deteriorating problem. On the other hand, if she succumbs to the pressure of her party leadership and stays in lockstep against any and all changes to our health care system, then the line in the sand is now drawn. No Republican cooperation, no Republican support, no Republican alternatives, just unwavering objections to any reform and a total commitment to maintaining the protected status quo for health insurance companies is all we can expect from the other side. That could be a blessing. It frees up the Democratic leadership to quit playing the fool's game of expecting cooperation, allowing them to proceed with crafting the final bill that actually creates the essential reform, including a public option, and bring it to a vote.
The Democrats only need to produce 50 votes in the Senate to pass the bill. In a 50-50 tie, the Vice President is responsible for casting the tie-breaking 51st vote. There's no doubt the Republicans will pitch a hissy fit, but for the past nine months that's all they've done. We've heard it all before, and it's now become tiresome. It won't be a landmark victory for the president, or even the Democrats. The benefactors will actually be the American citizens. Like other great social changes, Civil Rights, Social Security, Medicare and others, once adopted it becomes a part of our fabric and the unreasonable fear spread by the Republicans will quickly dissipate and it will accepted as a great step forward. If that's the scenario that unfolds, then it will be ironic that the catalyst that put it in place was "a loss", a loss of one single Republican vote.
"Losing" today wouldn't be such a bad thing at all.
The Senate Finance Committee is preparing to vote on their final draft of the health care reform bill. The committee is comprised of 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans, but all the attention is focused on one lone vote. How will Senator Olympic Snowe (Republican - Maine) vote? So far, in all the other proposals generated by other committees, not one single Republican has voted for any improvement measure. They've stayed tight, in unified support of official policy to protect health insurance companies from any attempts at reform. But Olympia Snowe is a different breed of Republican from the pure wingnuts now in control of her party. She's a moderate, something they have little tolerance for, and we can be assured that her party's leadership has placed her under withering pressure to tow the party line on this vote. We'll know the answer to how she'll vote before the day ends.
It would seem on the surface that having any Republican accept the obvious need to fix a broken system would be a good thing, even if it's just one vote, but sometimes things aren't always what they seem.
If Senator Snowe casts her vote in support of her committee's bill, then it's probable that the merged bill that eventually will make it to the floor for a vote will be a compromise bill, diluting some of the portions that would truly make it a piece of landmark legislation bringing long overdue reform to a deteriorating problem. On the other hand, if she succumbs to the pressure of her party leadership and stays in lockstep against any and all changes to our health care system, then the line in the sand is now drawn. No Republican cooperation, no Republican support, no Republican alternatives, just unwavering objections to any reform and a total commitment to maintaining the protected status quo for health insurance companies is all we can expect from the other side. That could be a blessing. It frees up the Democratic leadership to quit playing the fool's game of expecting cooperation, allowing them to proceed with crafting the final bill that actually creates the essential reform, including a public option, and bring it to a vote.
The Democrats only need to produce 50 votes in the Senate to pass the bill. In a 50-50 tie, the Vice President is responsible for casting the tie-breaking 51st vote. There's no doubt the Republicans will pitch a hissy fit, but for the past nine months that's all they've done. We've heard it all before, and it's now become tiresome. It won't be a landmark victory for the president, or even the Democrats. The benefactors will actually be the American citizens. Like other great social changes, Civil Rights, Social Security, Medicare and others, once adopted it becomes a part of our fabric and the unreasonable fear spread by the Republicans will quickly dissipate and it will accepted as a great step forward. If that's the scenario that unfolds, then it will be ironic that the catalyst that put it in place was "a loss", a loss of one single Republican vote.
"Losing" today wouldn't be such a bad thing at all.
