"Sen.
Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic
leadership, said last week that ObamaCare was not worth the political cost.
And
he’s not alone.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Health
Education Labor and Pensions Committee, told The Hill that Democrats should have
enacted a single-payer healthcare system or a public option. In retrospect,
Harkin said, Democrats should have not passed the bill they did. While he says
the ACA enacted some good reforms, he bemoans its daunting complexity.
Schumer’s and Harkin’s recent remarks are quite different than in
prior years. After the Supreme Court upheld ObamaCare’s individual mandate,
Harkin hailed the ruling as “great news for America’s families, businesses and
our economy. The Affordable Care Act moves us forward where every person has
affordable, quality healthcare in America.”"
It's
laughable to hear these comments in 2014 but that's what losing big will do
to you. It's obvious that the only Democrats who've survived their vote are
those in gerrymandered districts or safe blue states.
My question is simple: Why didn't one of these US Senators approach Majority Leader Reid and tell him to stop it?. The Democrats had a chance in Christmas 2009 to stop the bill and save the election that Scott Brown won in Massachusetts a few weeks later.
Where was Jim Webb, the former Senator from Virginia? He is now saying that Democrats have "lost their way". So why didn't Mr Webb go to the Senate floor and pull back his support for the bill.
My guess is that Senate Democrats were torn between political reality and "wishful thinking".
Politically, they knew that it'd very hard to walk away from President Obama's signature legislation. They were probably afraid of a primary challenge, like what happened to Senator Lieberman over Iraq.
The "wishful thinking" was that the Supreme Court would kill the bill upon reading it. Most Democrats bet that the 5 GOP appointments would do what none of them had the courage to do.
So Obama Care survived the Roberts Court but those who voted for it did not survive the court of public opinion.
Seriously, there aren't any "profiles in courage" awards waiting Webb, Schumer and Harkin. More like "profiles in cowardice"!
And a big "profile in cynicism" for Mr Schumer who basically said that focusing on the uninsured had no electoral value.
P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr
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