It was inevitable. Not so much as the ascendancy of former Massachusetts state senator Scott Brown to U.S. Senator status, nor the Republican inheritance of a seat previously deemed as unassailable by any Republican…ever – that of “Liberal Lion” Ted Kennedy. Nope. The totally predetermined response to the reason for the election of a Republican to that vacant seat — that of a referendum on healthcare reform not only in the Mass. Commonwealth, but also by extension, the nation. Right wing pundits and mainstream media outlets wasted no time in adopting the “enough is enough” mantra the movement sees as the singular problematic domestic agenda of the current Obama administration.

Even the most casual observer of current events can concede that the plan for a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate was the immediate vector in placing Obama’s healthcare reform agenda into motion, a scenario all but obliterated with Scott’s win. But is a Republican claim on Kennedy’s fabled seat a slam dunk for the GOP as much as the media make it out to be? According to some sitting Dem senators — yes.

In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process. It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders. To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated.

Progressives could be hoping for a silver lining in spite of Brown’s win, however. Let’s remember that not only the House, but the Senate has already voted on and passed a reform bill. A revote is only needed on adjustments to it via conference committee. Anything other than support for what has already made it through the debate mill is not only impractical but also foolish. Some reform is better than no reform, right? If Pres. Obama and the Dems want to get this legacy point behind them, any talk of what has already been debated and jettisoned just doesn’t make much sense at this point — now that a Democrat supermajority is no more in the Senate. It will be interesting to see what path the Dem party takes in the next few days as it ponders both a final reform bill into law and — perhaps more importantly — what all of this means in November. | LINK

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