Health Care Reform Avoids The Upset

President Obama--and most college basketball fans--picked Kansas to win the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  The Jayhawks responded by losing in the second round to Northern Iowa.

Hoping to avoid a second upset of the weekend, Obama was watching the House of Representatives give him the biggest victory so far in his presidency.  The health care bill he had worked so hard for from the moment he entered the White House passed 219-212.  The bill now goes to the Senate.

All but 34 Democrats voted for the bill, while every Republican voted against it.  Still, the matter was not settled until a key anti-abortion Democrat was reassured that no federal funds would be made available for the procedure. 

The $940-billion plan, among other things, would extend coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.  It would also require folks to get insurance or pay a fine.  No one would be turned down because of a pre-existing condition.  Most of this legislation, however, won't go into effect for a few years.  Which may be too late for some people.

The Republicans had some legitimate gripes about what they saw as the government takeover of the health care industry.  But they lacked a better idea besides doing it over, which might have resulted in no bill at all. Some Democrats even held their noses as they were voting for the bill.  But the "Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare" crowd left a lot to be desired as they revealed themselves to be racist jerks, shouting slurs at certain black and gay congresspersons during protests yesterday at the Capitol.

Once the reforms become law, can we please move on to other things?  There are so many other issues that need to be taken care of, but had to be put on the back burner.  Or are the coming midterm elections going to be all about health care ad nauseum?

In the 1930's, it was Social Security.  In the 1960s, it was Medicare.  What happened tonight was the creation of one of the most significant social reforms in the country's history, and how it will be implemented will help define the Obama admninistration for years to come.

In other words, folks:  As far as health care is concerned, we're not in Kansas anymore.