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THE QUESTION
Brown's win in Mass.: What should Obama and Congress do now?
In light of the Massachusetts voters electing Scott Brown to Edward M. Kennedy's seat in the U.S. Senate, what should President Obama and Congress do now regarding health-care reform?
Posted by Ceci Connolly on January 20, 2010 9:48 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Chin up and get this done
At one of many low moments of World War II, a breathless young aide barged in on Winston Churchill to report bad news. Churchill responded: "I've heard worse." That's the resilience Democrats need this week.
Posted by Harold Pollack, on January 22, 2010 12:19 PM
The way forward
So what message has Massachusetts conveyed with the election of Scott Brown? Americans, particularly independent voters, desire a bipartisan solution.
Posted by Arjun Parasher, on January 22, 2010 11:32 AM
The lesson from Massachusetts
Tuesday night's historic Senate election in Massachusetts delivered a resounding message to President Obama and Congress relative to health-care reform: slow down, drop the sweetheart deals and get back to publicly pursuing positive reform that all Americans want and need.
Posted by Newt Gingrich, on January 21, 2010 5:46 PM
A new wrinkle
Our economic health is undermined by our poor health as a society and that the health-care reform debate needs to include policies that get at this underlying issue.
Posted by George Barrett, on January 21, 2010 10:11 AM
Retreat, rethink, return to principles
Opponents of the current bills should not read the Massachusetts election as a license to sleep under a tree for another 15 years.
Posted by Robert F. Graboyes, on January 21, 2010 6:18 AM
Right-sizing health care
What cannot happen is that we walk away empty handed. The rest of the Obama agenda cannot afford this nor can the majority of Democratic incumbents who will risk being labeled inept.
Posted by Chris T. Pernell, on January 21, 2010 1:13 AM
It's time to do it right
It is time to convene a true Conference Committee of the two legislative bodies to function as they should on any legislation to produce a single bill for consideration.
Posted by Linda Leckman, on January 20, 2010 7:21 PM
Provide real leadership
It's time to regard health care not as a product to be sold to the American people, but as it truly is; an essential human service.
Posted by Kathy-Ellen Kups, on January 20, 2010 4:13 PM
Thank you, Massachusetts
I'm thrilled the people of Massachusetts have chosen this route. I fear the powers in Washington, D.C. are determined to ram this terrible piece of legislation down our throats and will attempt to do so.
Posted by Sue Falkner Wood, on January 20, 2010 12:57 PM
Starting from scratch?
You couldn't write fiction more dramatic than this. Sen. Brown's election will reset the clock on the entire health-care reform effort, throwing many Americans' hopes for accessible, affordable care into jeopardy.
Posted by Doug Ulman, on January 20, 2010 11:40 AM
A two-step plan
There is a feasible two-step pathway forward. I am confident it can, and will, be achieved.
Posted by Ron Pollack, on January 20, 2010 11:24 AM
Dismayed at this outcome
Kennedy would never have taken the vote for granted. The 60 vote majority is something he would have worked brilliantly and ceaselessly to secure.
Posted by Mary O'Neil Mundinger, on January 20, 2010 11:17 AM
A lost opportunity
A lost opportunity, sure. But time to reformulate and deal with other issues, like job creation and energy conservation and innovation? Absolutely.
Posted by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, on January 20, 2010 10:58 AM
A time to assess
I have felt that the failure to address meaningful structural cost reduction and quality improvement at the same time as he and Congress worked toward universal health insurance access was a fundamental mistake.
Posted by Michael Critelli, on January 20, 2010 10:19 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
skeptik3: Obama and Congress should stay the course: wrap up health care as quickly as possible (by for instance, adopting the Senate bill), and move ...
AmzgGrce: How about trying something revolutionary for once - Listen to the people who elected you.
This situation is a result of a small group of ...
ACTIONBIAS: Kill the current mess.
Establish an independent commission (that includes experts on health care--for instance the president of Harvard Med ...
