The voices of reason in the United States won a major victory tonight.
Healthcare is officially no longer deemed a privilege, but a right for every citizen. While the steps made in the final healthcare package are modest, centrist, and do not include a much-needed public option, they represent the biggest advance in America’s social contract in 45 years, since the passage of Medicare. With this one vote alone, President Obama now sits among the most consequential American presidents. It is truly a remarkable achievement.
It also marks the first time in my lifetime that I have witnessed in real-time the extent to which the reactionary forces in America will purposefully misinform, deceive, and slander to stand in the way of progress. I have now seen firsthand the lengths that the forces of ignorance, backed by their corporate special-interest cronies, will go to demonize those who want to take even the smallest amount of wealth away from the already well-to-do and redistribute it to the middle and lower classes.
While the healthcare overhaul is nothing close to socialism, it does represent a progressive redistribution of wealth in American society, after decades in which policies have been vastly regressive. It puts the brakes on, and reverses the concentration of power at the highest income brackets.
Perhaps most importantly, it begins the process of injecting more competition and bargaining power for the average citizen into the healthcare system, even though it falls short of what ultimately will need to be done. This reform effort should be viewed as a first step in a long process, but a critical one. The fight has just begun, and with renewed energy and commitment from progressives, it too, like most pieces of social legislation, will improve over time.
Expect to see a fight for the public option as the next step. Now that it will be able to stand alone, I think the odds are much more favorable that it will pass. It is extremely popular with the public, and now that insurance coverage is going to be mandatory it is logical that the maximum number of choices be made available.
There is so much to say about this past year—the political implications, the ebb and flow of the Democratic leadership, the many failed attempts at bipartisanship, the media’s terrible role in compounding misinformation, the August “Tea Party” townhall disruptions, how President Obama, after losing the narrative and the process, finally got his mojo back and returned to campaign form—but for now I want to highlight my initial thoughts on some of the biggest winners and losers in this epic legislative battle.
Winner: Nancy Pelosi
From all accounts Nancy Pelosi was instrumental in keeping Obama’s eye on the ball for comprehensive reform and not caving in after Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts. She never once waivered in her commitment and she delivered the votes at a time when the House is extremely distrustful of the Senate and unhappy with the more moderate Senate bill they had to accept (my favorite Pelosi quote is here). Also, don’t forget that Pelosi has already delivered on Obama’s other signature legislation, with tough financial regulatory reform and a decent climate change bill. Bottom line: Pelosi is tough as nails, the most powerful woman in America, and one of the most effective Speakers of all time. After being demonized by the Right for years, this is poetic justice. Thank you Nancy.
Loser: Women
Unfortunately (and ironically), in order to secure the votes of anti-abortion Democrats led by the chronically misinformed and deceitful Bart Stupak (who will now fortunately face a serious Democratic primary opponent), the President signed an Executive Order that repeats the restrictive language on abortion in the Senate version of the healthcare bill. Abortion foes have been worried that healthcare subsidies will help pay for abortions, and so to placate their demands, women who want abortion coverage in their insurance will have to send in separate checks, one personal and one with government money. It’s an absurd exercise because no one is arguing that women who get tax rebates or tax breaks on employer healthcare do the same (which most women do); this is simply a way to use poor women to score political points. In a sign of incredible hubris, Stupak went so far as to state this opposition to the healthcare bill (which will save tens of thousands of lives), was premised on its abortion language (which will save none) because of his deeply held “pro-life” principles. Women’s organizations around the country are clearly not happy with President Obama’s Executive Order.
Winners: President Obama and the Democratic Agenda
Even though President Obama is rightly criticized for not taking a stronger leadership role in the healthcare process much earlier on, and continuing to believe in bipartisanship when it was clearly impossible, he has achieved what many presidents before him tried to do and failed. Nothing breeds success like success and I expect to see a much energized and more aggressive Democratic Party in the coming months. And there is no better issue to keep the momentum going than financial regulatory reform, with the Republicans openly siding with Wall Street and big banks. Also expect to see a major push for immigration reform and climate change legislation. It’s going to be a very busy spring.
Losers: The Republican Party and the Tea Party
No matter how they try to spin it, the healthcare victory is a huge blow to the GOP, who now will have to run against elements of the healthcare plan that are extremely popular, such as an end to exclusions for pre-existing conditions, increased subsidies for drugs for seniors, lifetime caps on medical bills, and expanded children’s healthcare coverage. History is clear that social programs, once passed, are almost impossible to repeal. The Republicans threw everything they had at the President and the Democrats, whipped mobs into frenzies, and lied repeatedly on every major media outlet for more than a year on every aspect of the proposed legislation, but in the end they lost. The same goes for the Tea Party movement, which became even more bellicose, unhinged from reality, and outwardly bigoted as the vote drew near.
Americans of all political persuasions are rightly angry about the high unemployment rate and the Wall Street fat cats who gamed the system and ripped us all off, but by and large they do not subscribe to the Tea Party worldview. While this far right movement, funded by fake grassroots campaigns and corporate money, will endlessly fascinate Fox News and the major outlets that prefer screaming over reasoned discussion, the movement has already peaked. I predict that it will do more damage to Republicans through bitter primary fights than to Democrats in the midterm elections (just as it did in upstate New York in the race in which Tea Party candidate Doug Hoffman helped secure the first Democratic congressional victory since the Civil War).
Winner: The American People, who have now joined the rest of the developed world in establishing a fundamental right to healthcare.
Jason Scorse