There was no way, Democrats believed, that they could accomplish such far-reaching reform in an election year. The Senate bill, which still doesn’t have enough votes in the House to pass, barely squeaked through on Christmas Eve.
Now the new deadline for a final package is Easter break. This time the thinking goes: If Congress doesn’t get a bill to the president before politicians head home, there will be no health-care reform for 10 more years. Come April, their energies are needed on other pressing concerns, such as reelection.
Meanwhile, the zoo in the living room demands attention. If the bill is so unpopular that it must be passed long before Election Day, could there be a problem with the legislation?
If health-care reform as proposed were so good for the nation, why wouldn’t legislators prefer to run on rather than away from that record? If you can’t run on the strength of the laws you pass, then either you shouldn’t be running or you shouldn’t be passing.
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