Once upon a time, Republicans could have original ideas, could differ from others in their party on substantive issues, and could come up with creative pragmatic solutions to problems. That was then. Now, it is required that all candidates adhere to the right wing dogma of the day. Policy has become religion, and one dare [...]

Even if Republicans take back both houses of Congress this year, they should not cheer too loudly. They were soundly repudiated just two short years ago (how soon we forget), as the Democrats will be this time around. What does this tell us? It tells me that Congress, ever more beholden to special interests and [...]

If I weren’t so angry about it, I’d be amused by the opponents of health care reform who just don’t get what it’s like for those Americans who either can’t afford or can’t get coverage. Many of you who have health insurance through an employer or are fortunate enough to be able to buy it [...]

After more than sixty years of failed attempts, President Obama tomorrow will sign into law a sweeping reform of America’s health care system. It’s certainly not a perfect bill. I’d have preferred Medicare for all, with substantive changes in how reimbursements are made, but given the toxic political climate, that was not possible. I watched [...]

I heard a funny thing this morning. Republicans said that if the Democrats go ahead and pass health care reform by the process known as “reconciliation,” or, to us laymen, a majority vote, it would make bipartisan cooperation more difficult in the future. This from the party that has made partisan obstructionism its only strategy [...]

Here we go again. One more attempt at crafting a health care reform bill with the Republicans. The problem is that the GOP wants nothing to do with the main ideas the Democrats have put forth. Part of it is ideological–a reflexive rejection of anything but market-driven health care, (which has dismally failed either to [...]

The Republicans are nothing if not united in their opposition to anything the Democrats try. In the case of health care reform, their stance from the beginning has been to kill it at all costs. It’s an outrage that it takes 60 votes in the Senate to accomplish anything when the minority party is unanimously [...]

I’d like to believe that Senator Lieberman’s about-face on supporting the Senate’s health care reform bill was a principled stance, but I don’t. Either the man loves being the center of attention so much that he’s willing to break his promises, or the health care lobby that’s given him so much money got to him. [...]

It now looks likely that Obama will be able to sign some version of comprehensive health care reform by the end of the year. There are still numerous hurdles to leap, but the momentum appears to have built to the point that the discussion is about what the bill will contain rather than whether it [...]

These days it’s hard to be more outrageous than the news. Given the increasingly hysterical attacks on the proposed health care reform, this piece, which I wrote a few weeks ago, may not be enough of an exaggeration to pass muster as satire. My fear is that the opposition will pick it up and run [...]