Forget about reconciliation and other parliamentary maneuvers. Forget, too, about Cadillac plans and the Cornhusker Kickback. On health care, we’re down to the heart of the matter: Can Democrats act like a disciplined, cohesive political party?
For decades, they’ve fought for the principle of universal and affordable health coverage. If they don’t pass health reform now, with medical costs mounting, with a president willing to go for broke and with sizable — and perishable — majorities in Congress, you have to wonder if they ever will.
There will be no shortage of excuses if they fail: a populist backlash against bailouts and joblessness; GOP obstructionism and rising public antipathy for Washington and Big Government in general.
But let’s face it: If health care reform crashes and burns, it will be because Democrats couldn’t summon the courage and internal coherence to deliver on a key progressive commitment.
Labor unions, Blue Dogs, single-payer stalwarts, favor-extorting moderates, Latinos, anti-abortion Roman Catholics — it’s no use singling out one culprit, because all the party’s tribes will have contributed to the debacle.
By holding firm for comprehensive reform, President Barack Obama has put his party, especially House Democrats, on the spot. He’s asking doubters to put their party’s collective interest above their personal interests and views.
That’s a tough ask, especially for those from marginal districts who could lose their seats by voting for the Senate bill. It’s easy for self-righteous lefties to brand them as trimmers or cowards, but swing-district Democrats can argue plausibly that a “no” vote would more accurately reflect majority sentiment among their constituents. Liberals from overwhelmingly Democratic districts have no such excuse.
Still, Congress is a national legislature, and its members have a responsibility to act in the national interest. For most Democrats, that surely means ending the injustice of leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to financial ruin or death due to illness or injury. It also means beginning to get a handle on the runaway growth of health care costs that bedevils U.S. workers and businesses.
While party unity isn’t the highest political value, being a member of a party does carry some obligation to its fundamental principles. Tactically, it makes sense for party leaders to give Democrats in tough districts a pass on tough votes — as long as there are votes to spare.
That’s not the case on health care reform. Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs every vote she can get.
Not one Republican will vote for the Senate bill. About a dozen or so anti-abortion Democrats say they won’t either. Pelosi can afford to lose only 37 of the party’s 253 members to get to the magic number of 216. That probably means persuading some of the 39 Democrats who voted against the House plan to support the more centrist Senate blueprint.
Moderate Democrats, including those in the 49 districts that Sen. John McCain won in 2008, face political risks. Voting to support a major health reform bill on a party-line vote could, conceivably, cost them their seats. But if Democrats again stumble on health care, it could also trigger a “wave” election, like 1994, which would engulf marginal seats.
Some party pollsters claim that Democrats already have lost the debate and can only make things worse by passing reform anyway. But a careful reading of polls shows that many skeptical voters don’t think the bills go far enough, and most favor key provisions such as banning insurers from cherry-picking healthy patients and setting up insurance exchanges.
Reasons for this ambivalence are complicated, but it’s probably not because voters have pored over the details of the Senate health bill or the “fixes” Democrats aim to pass on reconciliation. In any case, who thinks Democrats will gain public respect by giving up on their top priority?
Obama was elected on a promise to tackle the nation’s biggest challenges — with health reform as Exhibit A. Independent voters have drifted away from his winning 2008 coalition during the past year, in part because they are losing confidence in the Democrats’ ability to govern.
The party may thus have more to fear from wasting a year to produce nothing than from passing a controversial bill. Failure won’t just make Democrats look bad; it will also vindicate the Republicans’ hyperpartisan campaign to torpedo comprehensive reform.
Sometimes, parties gain even when they lose — especially when they stand on principle. The odds facing Obama and Pelosi and company are daunting.
But the task is doable — as long as enough Democrats recognize that their careers won’t amount to much if their party can’t deliver on its core commitments.
Read the column at Politico.