The Nation‘s Washington editor, Chris Hayes, talks to Keith
Olbermann on Countdown about bipartisanship in healthcare reform.
While President Obama and prominent Democrats like Max
Baucus reach out to Republicans on the Hill and play insider
games, Hayes notes, they have largely forgotten what made the
Obama campaign special and put them in power in the first place: people-powered
organizing. Hayes points out that conservative senators like Chuck
Grassley and Mike Enzi have little reason to vote for a healthcare
bill, and Republicans will run against the healthcare bill in 2010 no
matter what, so wasting time on bipartisanship instead of focusing on
passing the best possible bill is a bad idea. The real political
benefit, he notes, will come from making people’s lives better.
—Sarah Jaffe
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