Division, confusion over healthcare

Since Scott Brown won the late Edward Kennedy’s US Senate seat in Massachusetts last week, passage of the new healthcare bill to be submitted to President Obama, has been in doubt. Brown’s victory has eliminated the powerful 60th vote the Democrats had in the Senate to overcome Republican opposition to the bill.

The general opinion, including those of some South Florida residents, is that Brown’s victory and its circumstances in which a safe Democratic seat was captured by a relatively unknown Republican, makes approval of the healthcare bill almost impossible.

South Florida liberals, like Cookie Beasley of Miami Gardens, strongly believes that most Congressional Democrats seeking reelection in November “haven’t got the guts to vote for a now unpopular bill.”

Registered Democrat, Godfrey Levine of Pinecrest, believes that the Democrats weakened on healthcare reform, “allowing Republicans, and the right wing media to influence public opinion, making the outlook for the bill very bleak.”

Following Brown’s victory a swirl of confused opinions enveloped healthcare reform.

One opinion suggested Congress could take a fast track approach, merge the House and Senate bills, and get it to the Senate before Brown was seated. Obama refuted that opinion, making it clear the bill shouldn’t be sent to the Senate until Brown was seated.

Another opinion was that the House should approve the Senate’s approved bill then submit it to the president. A few days later House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that there weren’t enough Democratic votes in the House to support the Senate’s bill. Not to be outdone, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D–NV), said that there was “no hurry” to get the bill passed and approved. Other Democrats opined that a bill could be formulated on aspects of the House and Senate bills that Democrats and Republicans agreed on.

On Wednesday Pelosi spoke differently, saying giving up on overhauling the nation's healthcare system is not an option. She said there was no possibility that Congress might abandon the healthcare reforms. “We will have something,” she said.

President Obama in recent days has said that he is committed to a bill being passed, and plans to ensure that this happens under his leadership.

Surprisingly, Republican demographic specialist Ron Ashley believes that Obama will use a ‘Quid-Pro-Quo’ strategy to get the bill approved. “I think he will cut some taxes, freeze some spending, to appease Republicans, in turn for their support on healthcare reform.”

FIU, political science graduate student, Fabian Pryce, doesn’t think Obama will let the bill fail. “He will see to the approval of the less controversial aspects of the bill in its first phase. Then he will focus on job growth. Next year, with new members in Congress, he will attempt phase two of the bill. It’s folly to underrate Obama. He didn’t become the first Black to defy the odds and win the presidency for nothing.”

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Conference of Bishops, and the head of the largest labor union federation asked Congress to recommit to enacting genuine healthcare reform. In a letter to Congress the bishops wrote that the political and ideological conflict in the healthcare debate has ignored the central moral focus and policy priority - to ensure that affordable, quality, life-giving care is available to all. Now is not the time to abandon this task, the bishops said.

American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) president Richard Trumka in an interview referring to the Senate, said, “We fought too long and too hard for healthcare to quit for now.”

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