One interesting footnote to the passage of the health care bill is that there was no gap between those voting for ‘cloture’ and those voting for the bill on final passage. All 60 Democrats voted for the actual bill, even though through much of this endless legislative process I think most assumed at least a few of the conservative Dems would vote against the bill itself.
In some ways this is a good thing for the Dems. They come out of the process with a full unity — something obviously enabled by the fact that Nelson, Lieberman et al. ended up getting virtually everything they wanted.
But this is actually a bad commentary on the state of the senate. It seems to confirm that there’s now no longer any daylight between the kind of bill you’d simply decide to vote against and the sort of bill you’d actually prevent your colleagues from getting a chance to vote on. We’ve pretty much been there for a while. But this vote really confirms it.
Late Update: A friend notes that if Ben Nelson had actually voted no on the bill after being bought off in so many ways that really would have been a bit rich. Same broader point applies though.
Sen. Hatch is on TV getting cornered by a host on just what in this bill he’d be for — if he supports health care reform but just doesn’t like this version of it. It was pretty comical. The host asks him whether he’s in favor of barring health insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. Oh, yeah, oh, we all agree on that, blah blah blah. No explanation of how you do that without dramatically broadening the risk pools.
It’s not surprise. But it’s worth noting once again that the Republican opposition on this whole issue is a sham. It is simply a vote for the status quo. And a bet that straight opposition can lead them back to power.
