As you probably know by now, today the Senate Finance Committee approved Max Baucus' health care reform proposal on a 14-9 vote. Not only is this a big deal for being the last version of the health care proposal bill to get out of a committee, but this event is also generating quite a stir because of Republican Olympia Snowe's decision to break from party lines and vote with the 13 Democrats.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/health/policy/14health.html?ref=us
Also on the NYT website is a small collection of blog entries from scholarly contributors about today's event (http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/why-one-vote-matters-in-the-senate/). Some of the interesting points that I found include:
1. The very fact that we're making such a big deal of one Senator not voting with her party demonstrates the hyper-partisan political environment that exists at the moment. Is it a necessarily bad thing that no other Republicans have signed on to this bill, or is it just a normal part of legislating big issues?
2. How long will Olympia Snowe continue to vote with the Democrats? Will she be willing to support a public option? If so, with what conditions?
3. Can Congresswoman Snowe's vote encourage other Republicans to vote with the Democrats? Maine seems to be an interesting case, though Senator Snowe is a Republican, the state itself is regarded by many as an "independent" (words of Larry Sabato). Therefore it is not surprising to see the representatives from Maine "stray [from party lines] with some frequency." It could be argued that Snowe represents voting for what her constituents wants versus what her party wants.
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Hi Patrick,
I'm excited that the Senate Finance Committee passed the proposal. All the discussions and readings from our policy class was starting to make me feel slightly pessimistic. But we'll see how it goes on the floor. I read about Republican Senator Snowe in the October 5 Time Magazine and they coined her as "the senator who holds the key to health care reform."I find it intriguing that the media is building her up to be this one senator that people are banking on for reform. I also agree with you that it reflects the hyper partisan atmosphere in Washington. I was honestly a little more surprised that all the Democrats voted for it since there were also suggestions that some were conservative and it was unclear if the senate bill would pass. But I would think Olympia Snowe would be supportive of the public option because she offered her own proposal similar to a Medicare, government-run public option to give affordable coverage to those who need it, somewhat like a safety net option. Her personal background growing up in a poor town and becoming an orphan at 9 years old (lost her parents to cancer and a heart attack) also hints at her drive to make health care insurance affordable. I guess we'll just have to see how everything pans out in the upcoming weeks. But knowing the Senate Finance Committee bill finally passed makes health care reform seem more hopeful that some kind of change will happen, considering the past few weeks of doubts the media has portrayed.
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