One Small Step for Democrats, One Giant Leap for Healthcare

In this Thursday’s economist, the magazine depicts both House majority leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Harry Reid in a relay race passing off a stick of dynamite. It is no surprise that this is an accurate depiction of the pending doom for the healthcare bill in the Senate.

The healthcare bill barely passed by a small 220-215 margin in the house. Although the bill squeezed through the house, democrats should not celebrate yet, as it will most likely not fare as well in the senate. Senate majority leader Reid already has democrat senators from conservative states that are hesitant to vote for the bill such as Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Even Senator Joe Liebermann, one of two independents in the Senate who is strategically necessary to supplement Reid’s fifty-eight democrats, threatens to filibuster any bill containing a public plan.

The bill passing in the house simply shows that the American people as a whole recognize the rising cost of healthcare. The reluctance of senators to vote for the bill shows that it will most likely not pass as currently written. In recognition of this, House majority leader Nancy Pelosi has even revived the idea of a "public-option" that will enable private insurance companies to compete with a government-run insurer to maintain America's capitalist form of economy. The final product of this bill, whatever it may be, will be a unique and reflection of the overall basic ideas of Samuel Huntington's American Creed, including its stresses on individualism, equality, and liberty. It will expand choices of the individual on their care by introducing this "public-option" and will enable thirty-nine million uninsured people to get the care that they need.