Jack & Jill Politics

The Drama Was In the History
by Jonathan Cohn

Saturday's debate on the House floor was at various turns entertaining, depressing, amusing, and even enraging. But, strictly speaking, it was not particularly dramatic.

Yes, the final vote was close. A bill needs 218 votes to pass. This one got 220, including one not entirely expected Republican. And at least according to one Capitol Hill source, the leadership didn't have a bunch of extra votes in its pocket. (If they had, the source noted, they would not have made the deal on abortion funding.) But whatever the margin, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was saying all day long the bill would pass–a verdict operatives on the Hill were echoing. While nobody was guaranteeing victory, everybody was expecting it.

Of course, that's often the way these votes go: The outcome is all but certain beforehand. If you want appreciate the significance of what happened on Saturday, you really have to take a step back. Or maybe a few steps back.

Consider:

The last time the House of Representatives tried to pass health care reform was at the beginning of the Clinton administration. That effort failed miserably, as committees squabbled over jurisdiction. This time, three committees produced nearly identical versions of legislation, putting those turf battles (mostly) aside. They got their work done quickly–well in advance of a self-imposed August deadline. And, most important, the legislation they produced was good.

Do not be fooled by the Beltway conventional wisdom, which has repeatedly treated House legislation as inferior to its counterpart in the Senate. If anything, the opposite is true. Should the House bill or something like it become law, the vast majority of Americans would have health insurance–protecting them from financial calamity and giving them access to medical care when they need it.

Republicans have repeatedly mocked the House bill because of its length. But there is a reason the bill needs so many pages: It's the product of thinking carefully about how best to design a health care system. The legislation has its problems; all legislation does. But at the level of detail–like, for example, the all-important question of how to design insurance exchanges–the House bill holds up extremely well.

And the bill pays for itself–not just in the first ten years, as the original version did, but in the future, as well. It may not do as much to reduce the overall cost of health care as the Senate bill would; in the view of most experts, that's the House bill's chief weakness. But it at least makes moves in the direction of cost-control.

Speaking of the Senate, that is where attention now turns–and where the process is unlikely to go forward as smoothly. It's the nature of the institution and the people who presently inhabit it. It'd be nice to think health legislation would blend the best of both approaches, rather than the worst. Alas, that's not a given.

But that's a matter for another day. Or at least later in the day. Now is a moment to appreciate what has taken place. The House has passed what is arguably the most significant piece

Maybe we should be calling out Black people who are taking orders from kos.

Aipac isn't going to have a choice. There is slow demographic shift among Jews around the world on Israel. All of this unilateral unwavering support AND FOR WHAT? There is still no peace. Its starting to become quite obvious that the biggest impediment for Israeli security and peace is the Israeli government. And Jewish people are starting to realize that. If you look through the comments on the this story on haaretz surprisingly a lot of comments are positive.

Then you are living @ which Bardo?

Taking a hard line with the Palestinians has nothing to do with pursuing the right idea or policy and everything to do with providing political cover. The Palestinians live under hard lines and even harsher policies 24/7.

Just keep in mind that the Holocaust occurred primarily in central and eastern Europe and it was not the overarching event of World War II nor were the Palestinians involved.

Lawdy, lawdy, what are we gwine do?

He's the Prez danger comes with the territory.

Un2#$%^&* believable. Peopla are calling out Davis after a 220 to 215 vote. Why do all the White moderate and blue dogs receive a pass for being in marginal districts or running for state wide office w/ their Congressional sinecure as a fall back? And the folks on these pages whom have been screaming blue bloody murder about so called progressives will not back the President are now saying get rid of Davis? The same Kos that publishes Dan Savage, whom is so f@#$%^& stupide he says marriage failed in Maine becasue AA people didn't vote for it when Maine is whiter than an albino convention? Why isn't thehow the hell do you call yourself a legislative leader Pelosi whe you do not anticipate that abortion, a Republican 54'50″ or fight issue, isn't addressed?
trose you are so on point, that folks even raising the Davis issue should be beat into the color of the next nationality.

Dennis Kucinich's vote concerns me like nothing else. I don't know anything about the Black guy in Alabama so I would be hesitant to try to mess with him. His true colors will be seen soon enough.
The “white progressives/liberals” are on my watch list. From what I have seen of KOS and his crew is suspect.

Suspect of what?

I agree with what u wrote above. I am keeping my eye on them. I was unawae that KOS was some how in bed with Dan Savage. See why I don't trust it? Thanks for the info.

Brother is analytical and knows his politics. Where has he been hiding? I have never seen him on CNN or MSNBC.

The bolded part is WHY you've never seen him on CNN or MSNBC.

which is why I'm rooting for Roland's show. Last week had on the Congresswoman from NY, and she was talking about BIO-TERRORISM. tell me the last time you saw a Black person on one of those shows talking about BIO-TERRORISM.

they all seem to be forgetting WHERE Cao's district actually IS

Roland Martin's show today was the best I have seen. I hope people are watching.
The second panel was great. Michael Eric Dyson brought up great concerns and questions. His thoughts on Obama and race were on point.
BTW who is the other Black guy sitting next to Barbara Lee that guy is good. Brother is analytical and knows his politics. Where has he been hiding? I have never seen him on CNN or MSNBC.

It was snark baby, it was snark…

No comprendo

??? (You can google that!)

… I was kidding.
Bardo, from bar ‘interval’ + do ‘two.’ is (in Tibetan Buddhism) an indeterminate, transitional state of existence between death and rebirth.