by Chris McGowan
The healthcare bill was signed into law by the president this week after more than a year of debate in Washington and more than a hundred years of struggle by progressive activists and both Democratic and Republican politicians, including several presidents.
The bill will expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans and implement much needed reforms of the health insurance industry, which has long gone basically unchecked by governmental regulation. Make no mistake: despite its flaws, the bill is a major victory for the American people and a huge step forward in improving our healthcare system.
Even for progressives disappointed by the bill’s continued support of the private insurance industry, there are a whole lot of seemingly little things to like, in addition, of course, to the dramatic expansion of coverage and new regulations. For instance, as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) points out, the bill lays the groundwork for addressing the major shortage of primary care physicians, a problem that nearly everyone has identified as a central barrier to improving both coverage and costs.
So what now for Democrats? Healthcare has consumed congressional and national media attention for the last year while issues like energy, immigration, and financial reform have remained on the backburner. And the attention’s not going away. Now that the bill has passed, the most prevalent media narrative has been the effect of the bills’ passage on the 2012 midterm elections.
But Democrats still have a lot of governing to do. They need to realize that perhaps the most significant political consequence of the healthcare debate is their chance to learn from their mistakes and figure out how to proceed with their legislative agenda from here on out.
Some obvious lessons: 1) Do not be so timid. Take the initiative and start selling the legislation from the beginning, especially President Obama. 2) Bipartisanship has its limits, especially in this political climate. There is no appeasing the radical right. 3) Legislative majorities come and go, but huge majorities like this one, which offer the chance to dramatically shape policy, do not. Act now. And act for major change. Compromise comes later in the process.
The general shape of the 2010 midterms might already be set, but the legislative accomplishments of this Congress and this president most certainly are not. Democrats made history this week, but there are a host of other issues right now that demand the same.
Image courtesy of: www.newyorktimes.com/
Tags: Barack Obama, Democrat, Healthcare Reform, Immigration, Progressive
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on Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 9:09 am and is filed under Beltway Banter.
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