Kennedy's Death Complicates Health Reform Drive

Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy died earlier this morning from brain cancer, and it clearly marks the end of an era. He was the last of Joseph "Surrender" Kennedy Sr.'s four boys, the only one to live long enough to get grey hair. For 47 years, he was a United States Senator, and as a matter of trivia, he was a Senator before two of his colleagues in that chamber were even born. Reflections on his personal flaws, his personal tragedies and his political career have bumped Michael Jackson's death off the airwaves for now. Others may wallow in that; this journal is concerned by the effects his passing will have on the drive for health care reform, none of them positive.

In the last few days, conservative Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) publicly opined that his absence had undermined the efforts underway to pass a major health care bill. For instance Mr. McCain said Kennedy "had a unique way of sitting down with the parties at a table and making the right concessions, which really are the essence of successful negotiations. So it's huge that he's absent, not only because of my personal affection for him, but because I think the health care reform might be in a very different place today."

His passing reduces the number of Democrats in the US Senate to 59. To break a filibuster, the Democrats need 60 votes. Some of the Blue Dogs were always wobbly on a pro-reform vote, but now, it doesn't matter if they respond to a three-line whip. The GOP will be able to kill any bill they want, and they don't want any bill. They want to inflict a defeat on President Obama regardless of the effect that has on the country.

If Mr. Kennedy had represented a typical state, the governor would simply appoint a successor, and the Democrats would likely be back at 60. However, Massachusetts is not a typical state. When its junior senator, John Kerry, got nominated for president in 2004, there was a fear among Democrats that a Kerry victory would result in Republican Governor Mitt Romney appointing a Republican to the vacated seat. So they changed the law. Now, a special election must be held no sooner than 5 months after the seat is vacated. Until then, Massachusetts has a single vote in the US Senate. Some Massachusetts politicos want to change the law to allow the now-Democratic governor to make an appointment. Whether this can happen quickly is unclear. This is a fine example of why changing the rules to suit a single situation is foolish.

Mr. Kennedy's passing does give the pro-reform bloc a possible lever in getting their way. Lyndon Johnson got much of his Great Society legislation passed by reminding everyone that they owed it to murdered John F. Kennedy. Perhaps, a few Republican votes could go for a reform bill if it were watered down. If all the reminiscences about the late senator are correct, he'd take 75% of what he wanted rather than insist on 100% and get nothing at all. He probably understood compromise better than anyone else in Congress. He knew that there was always another session ahead, another bill, another chance to get the rest. The perfect is the enemy of the good, and politics truly is the art of the possible.

Senator Kennedy made health care the center of his political career; he said so himself. Well, now it's time for the Democrats to make it happen without him. They would be well advised to follow his example and get something rather than nothing this fall. There's another session of Congress that starts in January, and more is available then.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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