Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Politics of Health Care

So the House of Representatives has, albeit narrowly, passed health care reform. Whatever one thinks of the merits of the bill that is an achievement for Pelosi and Obama in and of itself. Lord knows what kind of bill will emerge from the Senate and conference but that’s a matter for another day. Will it work? Who really knows? The politics of the issue are, in some ways, irrelevant to mundane questions such as “Is this a good bill?” Almost certainly not, but you go to war with the bill you’ve got. And, as a smart Democratic friend on K St puts it:

They have to pass this unpopular bill in order to show the American public that they can be effective, and by passing a bill that no one seems to like they will help their own re-election. It would be disastrous if they didn’t pass this unpopular bill, that would only show how ineffective Congress and the President are.

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