Healthcare Bill Could be Passed in Chunks

Sorry Paul Krugman. He made a futile plea yesterday for Congress to do the "right thing" on healthcare. Krugman wants the House to pass the Senate bill, but the day after Scott Brown's win, that was off the table. I think it's a forgone conclusion that the American people don't want the healthcare bill as it stands. A lot of things stood in the way of passing healthcare, but that was because democrats failed to communicate the benefits of the bill. Democrats spent more time fighting among themselves over the public option, vying for power, liberals vs. blue dogs, than explaining the bill to the people.

If only for transparency's sake and the sake of communicating to people, chunking the bill so that everyone can understand it sounds like it could be a good plan.

“Today the momentum of support was for sequencing this bill and bringing provisions to the floor individually,” the aide said Thursday.

While Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders aren't publicly embracing the notion, rank-and-file Democrats are pushing the idea.

“Both of the [House and Senate] bills as they stand now are dead,” Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said, reflecting the sentiment that had grown in the Caucus. The Hill