Friday, March 19, 2010
Editorial: Pass the bill
Boucher and Perriello should put aside personal political calculations about health care reform.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher is a long-time incumbent who hasn't had serious opposition in the 9th District since he first ran for re-election in 1984. Rep. Tom Perriello scraped out an upset victory less than two years ago against incumbent Republican Virgil Goode.
But despite their differences, Boucher and Perriello find themselves in similarly precarious positions as they try to decide whether to vote for health care reform when it comes up in the House, likely this weekend.
Boucher is facing increasing unrest in his conservative district. Perriello has barely had a chance to establish himself in his district. For both, a "yes" vote on the controversial health care reform legislation could be quite costly politically.
But, as former Rep. Marjorie Margolies points out in a Washington Post commentary reprinted on the right side of this page, there are worse things than losing a congressional seat to support an overwhelming public good.
Margolies should know. She was ousted in 1994 after her decisive vote to support President Clinton's 1993 economic package. She doesn't regret the decision and urges wavering Democrats to look at the larger picture. She writes, "I believed then and now that being able to point to something tangible that changed our country for the better was a more powerful motivator than the possible electoral repercussions."
Of course, crass calculations about electoral repercussions may not even be entering the minds of Boucher and Perriello.
Instead, both may be thinking only of the larger needs of their districts and the nation. We believe an honest appraisal of those needs would lead both to a "yes" vote.
The status quo is unacceptable. More and more Americans are either without insurance or underinsured, leaving them one unexpected illness away from bankruptcy. Health care costs are rising at an unsustainable rate, putting a huge drag both on the economy and the ability of American industry to compete globally.
The nonpartisan and respected Congressional Budget Office says the legislation the House is voting on is fully paid for and would lower the deficit significantly.
We hope Boucher and Perriello do the right thing and vote to pass this historic legislation.
