The GOP and the Health Care Reform Bills

Well, I guess it's a good thing that some of the more moderate Northeastern Repulican Senators are inching towards tepid support of a tepid Health Care Reform proposal. First, there was Sen. Olympia Snowe, who joined her Democratic colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee and voted to send along that Committee's version of a health care reform bill to the full Senate. Now, apparently, her fellow Senator from Maine, Susan Collins, appears to be leaning in the direction of support for some kind of health care reform bill.

As I said, I guess that's good. So should I cheer or something?

Really, though, I don't understand why anyone thinks it is important to get any "bipartisan" support from the GOP on any health care reform bill. My attitude is let the GOP be the party of "No" on a reform effort the U.S. public clearly supports in principle. If moderate GOP Senators like Snowe and Collins want to jump on board to save their "bumpies" when they are next up for election in a state that went decisively for Obama, that's fine. Let them do it. But they should not get any credit for this at all. And, in fact, the Democratic Party should basically make it clear that it doesn't need the GOP to pass healthcare reform and will do it without Snowe or Collins.

Come to think of it, it actually makes me quite angry that it's taken all the way until now, when the tide of public opinion is drifting more and more into the column of support for the health care reform initiatives of the Democrats, when moderate Republicans want to jump on board. My attitude has been, since the whole GOP-endorsed town hall obstructionist effort of August happened, to tell the GOP (and any elected official with an "R" behind their name) to piss off. I still feel that way.

So, while I guess it's a net plus that Snowe and Collins are maybe, possibly, potentially, going to support the final health care reform bill, all I can muster at this news is a flat, unenthusiastic "whoop-de-friggin'-doo."