[By chance, saw this. So, $95 in 2014 and $695 in 2016 if you have no insurance. That mandate is sure scary stuff! Imagine if more focused (with easy to read summaries) on what was in the damn bill? I include here the likes of TPM or Rachel Maddow, who spent lots of time on Rep. Stupak, appreciated up to a point, someone who ended up being called a "baby killer" by some asshole while supporting the bill on the floor.]
Lot's of talk of "Obamacare," but Nancy Pelosi had a major role to play. This includes an important strategy that has led to passage of much legislation (in her house especially -- lots of stuff held up in the Senate) while protecting the right portion of the coalition:
The precision was vintage Pelosi, who has passed practically the entire Democratic platform by intentionally narrow margins, allowing members in vulnerable districts to keep a safe distance from the President and his agenda, both of which have agitated the Republican base.
Pelosi also opposed some noises from the Obama camp to think small after Brown won:
During a mid-February conference call with top House Democrats, Pelosi made it clear she would accept nothing short of a big-bang health care push — dismissing the White House chief of staff as an “incrementalist.”
She staid the course, dealing with various shoals and sausage making, resulting in an end where even Rep. Stupak rejected Republican/oppositional talking points: "We stand up for the American people. We stand up for life." This includes reconciliation, which made the bill better. Thus, the push just to vote for the Senate bill quickly turned out not to be the ideal policy. [A letter was signed promising the votes were there in the Senate for the reconciliation package, but let's see how that turns out.]
This is an imperfect step toward reform. Many who voted for it wanted more but politics is the art of the possible, not the ideal. The trouble necessary to get it passed underlined why it took so far even to get this far. And, it is somewhat sad that even this pretty conservative approach got so much venom in return, too much of it based on b.s. and lies.*
But, in the era of naysaying, a nod should be given to Pelosi for doing the job she was elected to do -- be a leader.
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* There is a difference between lying and b.s. though some connection as well:
The liar still cares about the truth. The bullshitter is unburdened by such concerns. Bullshit-related phrases like bull session or talking shit also suggest a casual, careless attitude toward veracity -- a sense that the truth is totally besides the point. Bullshit distracts with exaggeration, omission, obfuscation, stock phrases, pretentious jargon, faux-folksiness, feigned ignorance, and sloganeering homilies.
-- Laura Penny, Your Call Is Important To Us: The Truth About Bullshit
For instance, Rep. Cao (R-LA) voted for the first House bill but not this time, based on abortion reasons that are specious.