Glad Health Care Defeated

I don't doubt that there needs to be reform in the health care industry in the U.S., but I for one am extremely glad that the recent proposal apparently has died out with the election of Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate.  It was just amazing to watch the "legislative" process out in the open.  I've read that making legislation is kind of like making sausage, you really don't want to see how its done (paraphrasing).  This was ridiculous.

To get one senator's vote (Nelson from Nebraska), they agreed to exempt Nebraska from certain taxes or provisions under the bill.  To gain labor's support, the tax on "Cadillac" plans would not apply to union members for several years after it applied to everyone else.   There just wasn't even the attempt to hide it.  They were playing really fast and loose with budget numbers in order to make it appear less costly.  This is the kind of fast and loose that executives would face indictment if they tried when reporting earnings and expenses to stockholders.  I got the impression that towards the end of the debate and before the Republicans got their 41st vote, that this was as much about getting a bill for some political victory as much as to really; that it was better politically to get something, even if it cost a lot of money and still left millions of people uninsured.   

The Brown election may have saved the Democrats from themselves.  If they had maintained their filibuster proof majority and went ahead with a bad bill, they might not have realized the extent of voter satisfaction until November, when many more seats are up for grabs.  It also showed them, that while the President is a skilled politician and a prodigious fund raiser, having him come and campaign for you may not be enough to save your seat.  I'm certainly not foolish enough to write him off and say that he can't help the Democrats, because in some places he undoubtedly can.  But the President's support during the 2010 campaign might not be enough for a lot of Democrats if they vote for an unpopular health care bill.