Historic Victory Achieved

With the House of Representatives' historic vote last night, passing S. 1 by 219 - 212, and reconciliation fixes to the same act by 220-211, landmark health insurance reform legislation will be law with the President's signature, while the reconciliation fixes move to the Senate, where Rethugs are committed to using parliamentary games to derail reform. We'll see how that works.

The spectacle this weekend of the tea baggers hurling racist and homophobic slurs at Congressmen was seen by America, and points up the far right extremist element behind the "populist" tea bagger movement. Anyone who has seen the signs at tea bagger rallies over the past year couldn't help but notice the undercurrent of raw racism . . . anyone but the mainstream media, of course, who continue to portray them merely as "angry Americans."

On the floor of the House, Rethugs used every minute of their allotted time to lie about the legislation. One has to wonder what payoff they expect, when in the weeks and months to follow, Americans notice that the Government hasn't taken over their health care, and they're not having their benefits denied, or having their kids denied coverage due to a preexisting condition. In other words, they'll realize that one side in the debate lied; they lied openly, egregiously, and shamelessly to protect the status quo, which benefits their patrons in the insurance industry.

On to the Senate, where we say, again: Pass. The. Damn. Reconciliation. Bill.

UPDATE: In an interesting turn, conservative David "Where You" Frum thinks that this legislation is the Rethuglicans' Waterloo. As Frum says, "We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat."