Posted on 05/17/2010 6:28:19 AM PDT by big black dog
After a 100-year struggle, Congress finally did the right thing and passed comprehensive health care reform, which President Barack Obama signed into law less than two months ago.
Millions of Americans can breathe easier because Democrats worked hard and pressed on, despite the naysayers and fearmongers, even when passage of health care reform looked bleak this winter.
Health care reform will not just expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, it represents a giant leap forward in controlling the increasingly out-of-control costs. Passing affordable, accessible health care for every American was a historic moment for our county — and a monumental achievement for Democrats.
This law offers many long-overdue benefits, including preventing insurers from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, closing the so-called doughnut hole for seniors, allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 and increasing coverage to more than 30 million Americans.
In addition, the passage of health care reform shows, once again, that Democrats understand that the business of government is people — their lives, their hopes and their dreams for a better life for them and their families.
This will not be lost on voters this fall.
During the long and contentious debate over health care reform, Republicans showed they were all too willing to fight for large insurance companies, rather than the millions of American families who suffered under the broken status quo. The pressure from far-right and special interest groups led to almost every Republican member of Congress and candidate for Senate signing a pledge to work on repealing health care if elected.
They all signed on, despite the basic rule of electoral politics: You never want to run telling voters you’re going to take something away.
This repeal pledge leaves GOP candidates across the country in a sticky situation. They have to look voters in the eye and say, “If I’m elected, I will take away your health care.”
Mark Kirk will have to tell college students in Evanston that they can no longer be covered under their parents’ health insurance plan. Richard Burr will have to tell the woman in Winston-Salem that because of her pre-existing condition, she no longer will be able to afford health insurance.
Pat Toomey will have to tell the retired union worker in Allentown why he wants the doughnut hole reopened. Jane Norton will have to tell the single mother in Denver why her family no longer will be eligible for Medicaid.
I don’t see this as a winning argument in any election cycle.
On the other hand, Democrats will surely reap political benefits from health care reform this November. They were sent to Washington in 2006 and 2008 to clean up the multitude of messes left by Republicans and to get things done.
Under the Republican Congress, nothing was done to address the health care crisis. Republicans watched as premiums skyrocketed, more and more people were denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and millions of hardworking Americans went without coverage because they couldn’t afford it.
Now, with Democrats in charge, we’ve succeeded in addressing all these issues and have moved the ball forward. We put our nose to the grindstone and produced results for the American people.
Whether the issue is health care or any of a host of issues, the reality is that in the past 18 months, Democrats have succeeded on moving forward on issues that matter to all Americans. Democrats brought the economy back from the brink to a point where we have now created or saved more than 2 million jobs, with signs pointing toward a slow but sure economic recovery.
Democrats passed legislation ensuring equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender; credit-card reform to benefit consumers; tobacco reform to protect the public health; and the largest middle-class tax cut in history.
Whether it is Republicans standing with insurance companies in the health care debate or Wall Street banks in the current financial regulation debate, Democrats are the ones fighting for the American people. And we will continue to do so in the months ahead.
For far too long, health care reform was a pipe dream for millions of Americans. Now, it is a reality.
Voters have a choice this fall to go back to the failed Republican status quo, in which patients are denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and have the Medicare doughnut hole reopened and costs continue to soar, or they can move forward with the Democratic Party, which is making progress toward controlling health care costs and increasing access to quality, affordable health care to millions of Americans.
Democratic candidates are sure to be better off this November because of health care reform. But, more important, the real winners will be the American people.
We'll see.
Where was this race? Montana? Texas? Georgia? Nope...it was in MASSACHUSETTS.
If HusseinCare couldn't carry Massachusetts it doesn't have a prayer of carrying a *single* state.
(But it certainly could carry DC)
What a mindless propaganda piece ...
Why does he think so many Dems voted against Obamacare ???????
Cuz they are evil too just like the Republicans?
And O needed dozens of BRIBES to get the thing passed.
Don’t they ever look at the UK or Canada to see what health care hell looks like?????????
Moron.
Vote him out
recall him.
Just don’t reprint his feeble minded pap here.
You S.O.B.
Pass the bong!
No it is not and November will remind you of that.
Yeah..the same “benefits” Democrats Corzine and Deeds got last November: a vicious kick in the pants, and an early retirement. Menendez has always been a delusional, loony left psychopath. If I were him, I'd start worrying about my seat when he eventually comes for reelection.
Didn’t mean you graybeard Meant menendez the a.h.
The business of RELIGION is supposed to be people.
Of course, the State is the god of the left.
Even at politico they can only attract a few commentors who support Obamacare.
I may be stupid but if California is broke now, how are they going to pay for obamacare?
Voters have a choice this fall,it will be their last choice if they vote democrat.
The important thing to the ‘Rat Party is how big the illegal immigrant turnout will be.
I doubt it.
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