Health Care Summit Was Political Theatre with a Purpose

The health care summit yesterday at Blair House was political theatre and nothing more. After 13 months of work, there was no way a 6-hour meeting among 40 legislators and the president could fix the US health care insurance mess. Of course, it was not meant to do so. It was designed by the White House to provide sufficient ammunition against the Republican Party so that a health care bill can be passed on partisan lines while providing a fig leaf of bipartisan effort.

That is not to say that nothing of substance got done. Bloomberg reported, "At times, both sides offered the possibility of compromise. Republican Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming said he liked the idea of purchasing exchanges and suggested they be open to all policies, with special markings for ones that meet minimum standards set by the Democrats' legislation." This, sadly, was the exception rather than the rule yesterday.

The legislative dance that needs to go on now is rather simple, at least by Washington standards. First, the House of Representatives needs to pass the version of the bill the Senate passed. Then, the Senate will make some amendments to keep certain left-leaning House members happy. This will come by way of budget reconciliation, which is not subject to filibuster. That means the Democrats need only 51 votes for the measure not 60. The GOP will complain that the rules are being violated; indeed, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) asked President Obama to renounce "jamming through" this legislation. "Jamming through" is not what happens when there is finally a vote after a year of debate and bickering. Passage in March 2009 would have been "jamming through," not March 2010.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) pointed to the 800-popund gorilla in the room saying, "There's an issue that's overhanging this entire conversation. It's whether the majority leader of the Senate will impose the 'reconciliation,' the 51 votes [which] could harm the future of our country and our institution, which I love a great deal." This journal loves them, too, enough to realize that changing some of the institutions is necessary. The filibuster needs to be modified or abolished.

Yesterday was the last chance for the GOP to change its approach. That didn't happen. They have wagered everything on this throw of the dice. The Tea Party is watching. The Republicans on Capitol Hill realize that they are at a critical juncture in the life of their party. Having failed to win two wars, having crashed the economy with insufficient regulation, and having lost the city of New Orleans, they know that they could be a minority party for the next decade or two. The only way to save something of the GOP is to prevent the Obama administration from succeeding. They have vowed to make health care Mr. Obama's Waterloo. And so it shall be, with him in the role of the Duke of Wellington, who said of Waterloo, "it was a damn near run thing." As it is with the health care bill.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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