As the world mourns the loss of Sen. Ted Kennedy, no other person is in need of his support and friendship like President Obama. With the president’s ambitious plans to overhaul an aging health care system causing havoc amongst Democrats, Republicans and U.S. voters, Kennedy’s passing comes as an unexpected blow to Obama’s once unstoppable crusade. However, the president and his Democratic counterparts can use Kennedy’s final wishes to reform health care.
As it stands today, the debate for health care reform continues. So even if Kennedy were alive today, three significant obstacles would still block the bill for health care reform as it currently stands.
Obstacle one: the American people. As their tempers flare under the hot summer sun, most voters are showing sincere concern over the ambiguity of the current health care reform bill. Add that to an infectious spread of health care reform propaganda by various public action committees and that concern becomes widespread fear.
Obstacle two: 52 Blue Dog Democrats in the House. Blue Dogs play a pivotal role in securing victory or defeat for Democrats in the House. Considering that Republican opposition to the current health care bill is nearly universal in the House, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will need to garner a majority vote by Democratic colleagues. Only 38 of the 52 Blue Dog Democrats must oppose on the House floor in order to block the bill. In other words, if Pelosi intends to push the bill, she will need all the help she can get from the Blue Dogs. The Blue Dogs’ dissent has beleaguered Pelosi before as the fiscally conservative Democrats blocked swift passage of an earlier form of the health care bill this summer.
As the nation inches closer to the November 2010 election season, most of the 52 Blue Dogs are feeling pressure to oppose the current health care bill from their constituents or face losing re-election. With this in the back of their minds, Blue Dogs are sticking with a centrist approach that opposes the idea of a government-run public option program that would compete with private-based health insurance companies.
Obstacle three: compromise in the Senate. When the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday, both Democratic and Republican Senators will begin working together in committees to push Kennedy’s life-long cause of health care reform. Though the task is not as arduous for senators as it is for their counterparts in the House, reciprocity will still be difficult to obtain as Republicans and Democrats are still largely split on the idea of instituting a government-run public option insurance program.
Democrats have already tossed the idea of passing the bill without bipartisan support through a legislative maneuver called reconciliation, which allows the Senate to pass bills with 51 votes instead of the usual 60. A reconciliation vote by Senate Democrats could be a long-term path to destruction as it would destroy all hopes for bipartisanship on other controversial bills within the near future. In addition, voters could view such moves as deceptive and express their distaste within the upcoming elections. With 36 contestable seats in the Senate in 2010, common sense should be ringing in the ears of most Democrats right now.
With the Democratic leadership facing so many obstacles, the Democrats possibly have an ace in the hole with Kennedy’s passing as they can rally both public and partisan support from conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans in the House and Senate.
Having spent nearly five decades in the Senate, Kennedy forged relationships with some of his most conservative political opponents. The Liberal Lion’s ability to reach across the aisle and compromise was the main ingredient for a successful health care overhaul. With Kennedy’s resourcefulness gone, Obama has to look to Pelosi, Reid and Hoyer as the top playmakers to getting bipartisan support for health care reform.
Obama can still realign both voters and congressional leaders to back health care reform in three simple ways. To get liberal and centrist Democrats back on the same playing field, Obama must make Kennedy the rally cry for action. Secondly, to get Republican participation, the president must offer authentic compromise that may result in drastic modification or removal of a possible government-run public option.
Lastly, to regain public favor for his agenda, Obama must send the message that health care is a right and not a privilege, and inaction on the issue of health care reform would be far more dangerous to our republic than any proposals offered.
Vick Warnsley is a senior majoring in economics. He can be contacted at [email protected].