The Republican party was the party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, but that time has long passed. 🙁
Knowing full well that the American health care system needed reform, not one Republican in the Senate could overcome party loyalty and do the right thing: vote for health care reform.
The fact that this legislation forces insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions; creates an exchange that allows for competition as up to 31 million additional Americans have an opportunity to choose coverage; guarantees that no one will ever lose coverage because they get sick or injured; protects Americans from outrageous out of pocket expenses by establishing lifetime and annual limits; allows young people to stay on their parents’ coverage until age 26; prevents exorbitant premiums based on age, gender or health; lowers premiums for families through offering struggling people the possibility of subsidies; and helps small businesses to provide health care coverage to their employees through tax credits was totally ignored even by those Republicans thought to be open minded and possessing courage and principle.
I am talking about Olympia Snowe of Maine, Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and George Voinovich of Ohio. These nine senators have shown signs of independence and courage in the past, and are seen as highly admired senators in the sense of having principles, but not one could find it in their hearts to forget partisanship and make the legislation bipartisan.
These senators over time will come to regret their failure to cross party lines, come across the aisle, and do what was right: support the legislation that is the most significant social change to occur since the mid 1960s!