Senator Jim Webb
Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb said the upper chamber shouldn’t move forward with healthcare or any other bills until Brown is sworn in.
“In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process,” Webb said in a statement. “To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated.”
The statement from the centrist Webb is a warning shot to Democratic leaders who are now forced to confront how to move forward with health reform efforts and other top priorities in the wake of Brown’s victory. Republicans now control 41 votes in the Senate, meaning they will have enough votes to sustain a filibuster if they all stick together.
The issue is critically important to healthcare, as well. Some lawmakers had talked about rushing to finish their health reform efforts before Brown could be seated, which could take as long as 10 to 15 days under Massachusetts law.
It’s not clear how Webb’s statement affects that; the senator gave no indication as to whether or not he’d join with the GOP to stop movement on legislation until Brown’s seated, if push comes to shove. – The Hill
Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) supported Webb’s statement publicly Wednesday, with reports that “about 10” backed it implicitly.
“As I said to somebody last night:, everybody needs to get the Washington wax out of their ears and listen and pay attention that people out there believe that we are going too far, too fast,” McCaskill told Politico.
“I’ve said to the leader, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to try to pass another bill in the Senate before Sen. Scott Brown is seated,” she added. “I think that’s a bad idea.”
McCaskill said Democrats need to “hunker down and be realistic about what we can accomplish and certainly realize that if we don’t pay attention to what the voters say in Massachusetts, then I think we do so at the peril of our party’s effectiveness.”
On the House side, many Representatives followed Webb’s lead. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) told a constituents’ meeting that “both versions [of Obamacare], for all intents and purposes, are dead because of Massachusetts…. The public has sent a message.”
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) agreed the House could not now accept the Senate healthcare bill, and said he’d vote against it.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen said, “Health care was also part of the debate, and the people of Massachusetts were right to be upset about provisions in the Senate bill like the Nebraska purchase and other special deals.”
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) warned, “We’ve abandoned our principles on healthcare, such as expanding Medicare. We’ve driven away the voters on this…. Congressional leaders are whistling past the graveyard…. Take a step back and say, ‘We get the message.’ The independent voters don’t like it. Take a jobs bill, and add healthcare by expanding Medicare.”