Harry Reid (D-Nev.) invited former President Bill Clinton to attend the weekly luncheon of the Democratic caucus yesterday. Clinton was invited by the Senate Majority Leader to give his personal insights on the issue of health care reform.
Why Clinton was invited and the Republican response
It is reported that except for the members of the 2 committees that have drafted health care proposals, none of the other Democratic Senators have even read the bills. According to published reports, Sen. Reid is waiting for a cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Clinton tells Democrats “the worst thing is to do nothing”
According to the former President, what is important is to act. “It’s not important to be prefect here,” Clinton told reporters after the luncheon. You can expect amendments year, after year after year.
Clinton warned the senators of dire consequences if they fail to do anything. He reminded them that 15 years ago when health care reform failed to pass during his tenure, the Democrats lost control of Congress in the next mid-term election.
Getting something is good politics
Senators were urged to abandon their expectations of an ideal bill. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb) put is simply. The former President told us that "getting the best bill is not only good for the people, it's good politics -- and it's that simple."
Comments
Isn't that just like Congress. Don't worry about it being good just worry about getting re-elected. In case anyone has not yet figured it out--Congress has a great health insurance plan. They really don't care much if the rest of us don't
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