Praise for some politicians

Politicians don’t get much praise. Being Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., could arguably be even more thankless than being an IDS opinion columnist. Maybe.

But, as I write this column on the eve of the vote on H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, I must say: I’m proud of the way I voted in November 2008, and I think my elected representatives deserve some praise.

The fate of health-care reform is still uncertain, although as you read this on Monday, I can only hope that millions of uninsured Americans will be on their way to receiving health coverage. It’s beginning to look that way and I must admit — I’m feeling downright giddy.

What I am certain of at this moment though is that my people in Washington are doing everything they can to improve the status of health care in the United States.

Not long ago, everyone had given health-care reform up for dead. Just weeks ago, as Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., made his way to Washington and pundits argued that Massachusetts voters would dictate the fate of health-care reform to the rest of America, things seemed hopeless.

Moreover, many chastised the president for his invisibility in the process of reform. As the Talking Points Memo blog said, “President Obama, hammered for taking a hands-off approach on health care to begin with, has all but disappeared from the discussions as congressional leaders attempt to figure out a way to finalize a health care plan now that they have just 59 Senate seats.”

On Jan. 21, two days after Brown won Ted Kennedy’s old seat, the greatest columnist of all time, Paul Krugman, wrote: “(P)art of Democrats’ problem since Tuesday’s special election has been that they have been waiting in vain for leadership from the White House, where Mr. Obama has conspicuously failed to rise to the occasion.”

But then, in a magnificent changing of the winds, Barack Obama did something that for eight years I never knew a president was capable of: He admitted he was wrong, and he altered his strategy.

During an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Obama acknowledged that his hands-off approach was probably a mistake. Now, he’s gone as far as threatening Democratic congressmen that he will not be helpful come their campaigning season if they don’t support reform. Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., told the New York Times that the last time he remembered round-the-clock talks with legislators similar to those Obama has been having was fifteen years ago during the government shutdown.

Obama’s newfound involvement with the legislative process is no doubt responsible for the revival of health-care reform and its progression to Sunday’s vote. I couldn’t be happier that I helped to elect this man.

Some of Indiana’s politicians have also stepped up. Bloomington’s own Rep. Baron Hill said Saturday, “I will proudly cast my vote in support of a bill that covers 32 million Americans, allows all Americans to access a private insurance exchange similar to the one offered to me and my colleagues, stops the abusive practices of insurance companies, and accomplishes those goals in a fiscally responsible manner.”

I’m overjoyed to live in Hill’s district and be represented by a rational and respectable politician rather than one like Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who appears at fringe protest rallies where it is acceptable to throw racist and homophobic slurs, not to mention loogies, at congressmen. Here’s to you, Mike Pence. I never said it was praise for all the politicians.


E-mail: akames@indiana.edu