The future of the Democratic Party's health care reform efforts are very much in doubt. Most people think that the only way a bill will be passed is if the House of Representatives swallows the Senate bill whole. Don't look for that. Instead, there will be several smaller bills passed that can be supported by some Republicans. This is what the Republican leadership has been after. This won't satisfy the left wing of the Democratic Party, but it's the best they can get. This way, the Dems can say they got some reforms passed on a bi-partisan basis.
The real consequence of this election, however, does not concern health care. It concerns "cap and trade". As legislation, it is dead. Democrats, after seeing the results in Massachusetts, won't have the stomach for legislation that Candidate Obama conceded would "necessarily" cause energy bills to "skyrocket". Not that President Obama will give up on "cap and trade". He'll just have the EPA impose regulations that will get the same results. This will take congressional Democrats off that particular hook.
But achieving "cap and trade" through administrative fiat will put President Obama on the hook all the way. He already is regarded as arrogant and unconcerned about the popular opinion of his policies. His turning EPA regulators loose on CO2 emission standards will only reinforce the negative opinion that Americans are developing about their president.
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