There's an old adage that the two things you never want to see created are sausage and legislation. That adage was never more true then now, as we watch with horror and awe at the current kielbasa of healthcare legislation being cooked by the 111th Congress. Even the most ardent policy wonks find their eyes glazing over at the mention of public options, single payers and medicare for all. Most of us would be delighted if we lived out our years without ever again hearing the dulcet tones of Chuck Grassley, Olympia Snowe or especially Joe Lieberman. Lieberman should vote for healtthcare if only so he can afford the surgery to repair his vocal chords. Would that they all returned to the purgatory that is C-SPAN.
There may , however, be a silver lining in this laborious legislative cloud. I am hard pressed to recall a time when the legislative process was so public and transparent. Seriously, how many people know how their Senators voted on the "Medicare Part D" bill? (I'll save you a trip to Google. Medicare Part D was the Medicare drug benefit passed in 2003.) Who knows or cares how Hillary Clinton voted on the bank bailout? Love it or hate it, the legislative wrangling on healthcare has been the most public debate in this country since the Constitution was ratified in 1789. One suspects that if cable news were operating in 1789, the ratification might still be in doubt.
Imagine if we could have garnered this much activity during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Imagine if we had demanded months of debate . Imagine if the Bush Administration had been required to explain and defend their dissembling and misdirection regarding WMD and Saddam's affiliation with Al-Qaeda. America allowed the Bush White House to use 9-11 as a club to force a wasteful and unnecessary war. Given a choice between the bratwurst production that is healthcare reform and the patriotic misdirection of the Bush cartel, I'll take the brat. If deliberation could have saved 4,300 American lives, what sane person would opt for haste?
At least with the healthcare debate we know where everyone stands. We know how many pieces of silver are demanded by both allies and enemies. All of the dirty deals and back-room bargains that are hidden from public view most of the time but are part of every serious piece of legislation have been made public this time. We all know what Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas was paid in return for her support. (George Bernard Shaw was right. We always knew what you were. We were only haggling over the price.) The public process has revealed how absurd Ben Nelson sounds in a desperate effort to somehow make healthcare a referendum on abortion. The entire country has been treated to the obstructionist tactics of the Republications who have introduced no alternatives, no amendments and have tried everything short of pulling the fire alarm to stop the legislative process. By the way, have you ever noticed that "earmark" is only used in the third person such as "your earmark". In the first person it sounds more like "my vital addition to your bill".
We have also been privileged to watch a White House that understands when to speak and when to shut up. There was never going to be an opportunity for Barack Obama to force any aspect of the healthcare bill down the throats of the Senate Democrats. The President knew that the bill would see more changes than the pediatric ward at Presbyterian St. Luke's. For the administration to hang its reputation on any one aspect of the law would have been foolish. If that one provision had been compromised out, the President looks defeated even if the bill ultimately survives.
The President wants a healthcare bill that will provide more citizens with better coverage than they currently have. If the liberals hate it and the conservatives hate it and even the moderates are tepid, you probably have a law that will work. At least you have a law that you can pass. The country is learning that, even with 60 Senators on your team, no bill is a slam dunk. The term "herding cats" comes to mind. The Administration has done a masterful job of allowing the process to run its course.
It appears that the final, final, final healthcare bill will come up for a vote shortly after Christmas. (If there is a God, the vote will take place on Jan 6 the feast of the Epiphany.) For whatever compromises and amendments are involved, it will be an historic achievement. Of equal significance will be the level of participation by the electorate. From the moronic teabaggers of the summer to the various defections of the liberals in the fall, no legislative issue has generated as much interest or as much action. This is reality television we can believe in.
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