The House of Representatives, now under Republican control, has passed legislation to repeal the “health care reform” legislation passed by the last Congress. Democrats in the Senate, who control that chamber, are saying that repeal legislation will never come to the floor for a vote — and, of course, President Obama would be expected to veto any repeal legislation that would happen to reach his desk.
So, was the House vote a waste of time? I don’t think so. By voting to repeal the “health care reform” legislation, the Republican majority was fulfilling a campaign promise. We should applaud politicians who do so, not condemn them. The general public would have a more favorable view of politicians generally if more politicians actually tried to keep their promises. By acting so promptly, the Republicans are demonstrating that elections have consequences. And, of course, you never know whether political pressure will build on the Senate to consider some form of repeal legislation. If Democrats in the Senate consider the legislation to be such a great success, why should they duck a vote on its proposed repeal?
Now that the Republicans in the House have met one of their promises, they need to turn to working on the others. If I had a vote, I would urge them to focus on deficit reduction and a careful analysis of potential federal spending cuts.
Webner House 