How the Republicans Helped Pass Healthcare Reform

Barack Obama and the Democratic House leadership are patting themselves on the back for accomplishing something that many politicians before them couldn't pass; a comprehensive health care reform bill. A bill that, for the first time, makes sure that more Americans will be insured than not.

Yet credit does not belong to the Democrats alone, we have to give credit to the unsung hero of the Health Care bill. Without this Republican the bill might still be bouncing between the House and Senate.

Who is this Republican who made all of this possible? None other than now Senator, Scott Brown of Massachusetts. Upon winning the special election to fill the seat of departed Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator Brown vowed that he would vote against any incarnation of the Health Care bill.

So what makes Mr. Brown a hero of the Health Care Bill?

You see, Mr. Brown upon entering the Senate took the Republican hard line that he would absolutely vote to kill the bill when it came back to the Senate.

Here in lies the key to the whole enchilada. Mr. Brown, through his and Republican lack of foresight forced the Democrats hand and they did something the Republicans (at that point) didn't thing they would do; they voted the Senate Health Care Bill into law.

Surely once the public found out about the earmarks and payola that was written into the bill they would want heads to roll, thought the Republicans.

Except that the Senate gave the nod to the House that they would vote for the House's version of the Reconciliation Bill which would effectively remove much of the bloat from the Health Care Bill. Reconciliation was the appropriate method of dealing with this and it removed Republican obstructionism entirely from the process.

So there are many people to thank for the revolutionary and desperately needed Health Care Bill but not the least of which is Republican Scott Brown and the Republican obstruction machine.

Thank you Mr. Brown, without you this bill might still be bouncing around from House to Senate and back again. You played an enormous role in getting this historic legislation passed and I am forever grateful to you for this.

by: Robert Korczak
http://www.robertkorczak.com