Whither Health Care Reform? Brown Wins In Mass.
10 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // January 19th, 2010 // 9:53 pm
In what was considered a very unlikely outcome just three weeks ago, Scott Brown, a little-known Repubilcan state senator, has defeated Democrat Martha Coakley to fill the Senate seat that was held by Ted Kennedy in the overwhelmingly Democratic state of Massachusetts. Brown won 52 percent of the vote, much of which came from suburbs ringing Boston, according to various reports.
This will leave the Democrats in Congress scrambling to complete the health care reform legislation because the Democrats will lose the 60 votes needed to thwart a Republican fillibuster. Brown has vowed to oppose the legislation. One option for Democratic leaders in Congress: have the House pass the bill approved by the Senate, but without any changes.
Michael Kirsch, M.D.
This gives hope to those of us who have been suspicious and skeptical of pending health care legislation. It’s amazing that this senate seat was even in play, a seat that Ted Kennedy held for 46 years. If a Democrat lost this seat, than scores of Democrats across the country in more conservative districts are all reaching for Valium tonight. Will the Dems try to ram HCR down the country’s throats before Scott Brown takes office? I don’t think so. If they did, they would be punished this November. The subtext to Brown’s victory is that the public has not bought in to the president’s and the Democrats’ health care reform plan. Many of us felt that their ‘cure’ of the health care system was worse than the disease. http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com
Justice in MI
There is much that could be said, but the core is that Dick Armey won. The rest is commentary.
JaT
All I can think is this proves that lobbyists and special interests do not have so much influence that they cannot be quelled. Like Brown or not- take comfort in that.
JaT
Before I get scolded, let me just say, that I am aware that both parties are lobbied. I meant as it pertains to the support Coakley reached for, as opposed to Brown’s reach for the people.
harpy
The subtext to this outcome, to paraphrase NPR this morning - Massachusetts already has healthcare. It’s easy for them to say “I got mine so f*ck you, Jack.” One state does not “the public” make.
Anne PME
So, between Al Franken and Scott Brown, HCR and other pressing issues may beome more interesting and fun to watch on C Span than soap operas or game shows.
Lisa Van Syckel
Anne PME,… Im a C-Span junkie, this makes my day.
Palinthebutt
You betcha.
I can see healthcare reform from my back porch. Either that, or it’s a dead whale.
Send it back to Russia where it came from.
harry
Now healthcare reform is up in the air! So what now? Pharma stocks were up on the news of Brown, why?
thought pharma were in agreement with the new healthcare bill. You would think that Mass would reject healthcare because of the public option not in the senate bill, not healthcare reform in itself. although a blue state??, is the land of harvard and other like institutions, mass general (biederman), biotechs, in other words the hub of corruption in the medical world. don’t get the politics. I read here that Boston scientific (ugh) were courting coakley via kerry, so Brown could be a good pick. but then who in congress isn’t bought off by pharma, wall street? Brown? I don’t think so.
very difficult for voters on main street.
pharmavet
Massachussets has the benefit of experience. Their universal mandatory healthcare plan that was supposed to lower health care costs produced the opposite result. Voters saw Obamacare as basically a larger version of the same thing. Their direct experience taught them that nationalized healthcare would explode the deficit rather than lower it.