One of the great and bitter lessons of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's political career is also the most timely for House Democrats: The need to seize the political moment on health care reform. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
The author's first line was off-putting citing House Democrats as the critical players in the health care reform debate. They are important to be sure, but their key provisions are hardly radical though they are going to have to come to grips with overall costs in the face of the bad deficit news that recently came out. It would seem that the Senate Democrats and Kennedy's long-time friends on the country club Republican right would be the ones to provide them with a legacy-capping bill with those elements required for it to be credible reform.
When I was but a lad in graduate school at the University of Hawaii, I came to advocate for national and community service. I even testified with some lucky success to the state legislature. One young rising star representative, Roland Kotani, cosponsored a bill for a pilot youth service program. He would later be murdered by his estranged wife (won't go into details here). The shocking event rippled through the state house, and generated sentiment to "pass one for Roland". That bill would be the pilot youth service bill. Such a scenario in the U.S. Senate would seem likely given its oft validated reputation as the world's most exclusive club.