The Health Care Vote

As we reach the final vote on health care reform, a couple of columns that put the event in perspective:

As passage of health reform nears, a historic chance to help fix Washington, too

By Steven Pearlstein
Friday, March 19, 2010; A19

It's shaping up to be a great weekend here in Washington.

I'm not just talking about the spectacular weather or another upset-filled NCAA basketball tournament. I'm talking about the prospect of a quasi-climactic vote in the House that would finally have the United States join the rest of the industrialized world in offering health insurance to all its citizens.

Sometimes, those of us who live here and participate in political life can get a bit cynical. We tend to focus on the process or the gamesmanship or the unsavory compromises. Which is why it is important at moments such as this to get your head out of the weeds, look at the Capitol dome in the distance and remember how lucky you are to have a front-row seat to one of the world's longest-running historical dramas.

What strikes me about the lead-up to this weekend's health-care vote in the House is how quiet things actually are. (Full column with the link below)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031805315.html

AND.....

Democrats discover the benefits of taking a stand on health reform

By Eugene Robinson
Friday, March 19, 2010; A25

If health-care reform finally staggers across the finish line, it will be because President Obama and congressional Democrats recognized -- at long last -- the truth that has been staring them in the face for more than a year: They'll be better off politically if they just try their best to do the right thing.

No matter what the Democrats attempt or how they go about it, Republicans are going to complain, obstruct and attack. That's the inescapable lesson from this whole exercise, and it's hard to fathom why it took so long to sink in. The Democrats looked ridiculous, sitting around the campfire and singing "Kumbaya" while the opposition was out in the forest whittling spears and arrows.

As if to prove my point, some Republicans are already talking about trying to repeal the reform bill even though it hasn't been passed. This hardly seems in the spirit of bipartisanship -- which the GOP, with cynical but skillful rhetoric, has elevated into some kind of saintly virtue.

(Full column at the link here) - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031803044.html