Health Care Now

So, our new President, in order to appease Republicans and to pass his stimulus bill with wide-ranging support, made 40% of the bill tax cuts --much of which went to parts of the business community that really did not need it. This gesture was followed up by several visits with congressional Republicans to garner more support (support which, at least in the House, he doesn't need) and in return for his efforts he gained exactly 0 Republican votes.

Now, the question becomes, why water down the bill to suit Republican special interest groups if they're not going to give you a single vote in the first place? Writes Paul Krugman:

Research sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund shows that achieving universal coverage with a plan similar to Mr. Obama’s campaign proposals would add “only” about $104 billion to federal spending in 2010 — not a small sum, of course, but not large compared with, say, the tax cuts in the Obama stimulus plan.

Screw the Republicans on this one. This isn't about partisanship, it's about getting us out of a dire economic crisis in which Republican style tax cuts simply haven't worked.

Read more about Krugman's article on getting health care here.