![Health Care Reform Without GOP?]()
by Art Smith
Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa, proclaimed Wednesday that Congress can proceed and pass Health Care Reform without the help of Republicans, or rather, despite Republican opposition.
While a more detailed examination of the bill that passed its first major hurdle in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will be forthcoming here, it seems to be worth the time to examine Harkin's statement as it strikes as a bellweather for our nation's future.
This is more than a review of the strictly partisan victory Democrats have achieved in Congress, with the 60 votes needed in the Senate to defeat most Republican efforts at stopping or at least slowing actions by Democrats that might normally be nuanced with even the threat of filibuster. It is about even more than the arrogance of those who hold sway in the Federal Legislature, Administration and perhaps in the next few years, the Judiciary.
It's about why a bi-partisan effort is sometimes, perhaps often, critical for real success.
Understanding this concept is essential to good government. Failing to understand it is what leads to the chaos we currently think of as government.
Neither of the major parties has [...]
