Recent victories in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire special elections suggest Democrats can score huge wins in the fight to control state legislatures. That changes everything.
The Dems had control of the House and a filibuster-proof Senate under Obama… and did jack shit. They could have legitimately transformed healthcare and broken for-profit insurance and the Republicans could do nothing about it; but they bickered amongst themselves until suddenly the insurance companies stopped complaining.
On January 20th, 2009, 57 Senate seats were held by Democrats with 2 Independents (Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman) caucusing with the Democrats…which gave Democrats 59 mostly-reliable Democratic votes in the Senate, one shy of filibuster-proof “total control.” Republicans held 41 seats.
So far so good. Well, not filibuster proof.
The 59 number in January, 2009 included Ted Kennedy and Al Franken. Kennedy had a seizure during an Obama inaugural luncheon and never returned to vote in the Senate…and Al Franken was not officially seated until July 7th, 2009 (hotly contested recount demanded by Norm Coleman.)
Oh what’s this? The actual number was really 55 Dems + 2 independents!
Then in April, 2009, Republican Senator Arlen Specter became a Democrat. Kennedy was still at home, dying, and Al Franken was still not seated. Score in April, 2009…Democratic votes 58.
In May, 2009, Robert Byrd got sick and did not return to the Senate until July 21, 2009. Even though Franken was finally seated July 7, 2009 and Byrd returned on July 21…Democrats still only had 59 votes in the Senate because Kennedy never returned, dying on August 25, 2009.
Nope, still not filibuster proof.
Kennedy’s empty seat was temporarily filled by Paul Kirk but not until September 24, 2009.
The swearing in of Kirk finally gave Democrats 60 votes (at least potentially) in the Senate. “Total control” of Congress by Democrats lasted all of 4 months. From September 24, 2009 through February 4, 2010…at which point Scott Brown, a Republican, was sworn in to replace Kennedy’s Massachusetts seat.
There’s that filibuster proof majority of 58 Dems + 2 independents.
And when was the ACA passed in the Senate? Exactly in that period, on 24th of December 2009.
The House agreed on it on March 21st 2010, and by then, there was no filibuster proof majority anymore to go further than the ACA.
Oh, and after 2011, Dems never gained house and Senate majority together for a decade. That’s one reason why the US is so fucked, by the way.
Hi, my name is ProcurementCat and I call out people who pretend to be very leftist but actually only make leftist politicians look bad.
Edit: Oh, and there was one major amendment to the ACA, by the way: When Republicans used it for tax cuts under Trump.
It took a filibuster proof majority to pass the ACA, it took 51 votes to turn it into a 2.3 trillion tax gift for the rich. Don’t really hear you complain about that.
While I definitely wish there was more under ACA, but to call it “jack shit” is too far. I know too many people who’ve hugely benefited from it to act like it’s nothing.
I wrote a reply with a little bit of context and explanation to that “filibuster proof majority”. The reality is: After passing the ACA, there was no chance in hell Dems could have gone further.
Not one single time after seeing someone parrot the “ZOMG Dems could have solved all problems if only they’d used that majority they had under Obama” line have I seen them acknowledge the post like yours that almost inevitably follows it.
It also gets credit for being the excuse Democrats gave for 10 years about why health care reform wasn’t important anymore. IMO the harm that has come from that momentum halt completely reversed any good the ACA did. If the Democrats treated it like the stepping stone it always was, I would agree it wasn’t “jack shit”.
What more were they to have done and how? They no longer controlled the House/Senate and the GOP had won on a platform of defunding and dismantling the ACA. What sort of support could be expected right now of the GQP?
They should have kept pushing for a full single-payer healthcare system as the policy platform instead of demonizing anyone who dared suggest it. Whether or not they could enact it yet, they’ve completely killed the momentum we had from passing the ACA by treating it like it solved everything. So now that’s the best we’ll ever have for the foreseeable future.
Throwing up the Republicans as an excuse is just typical blame-shifting. As you’re clearly aware, they were never going to be part of any solution, so they’re pretty irrelevant to the discussion.
The opposition party, that holds the House of Representatives, who has held the entire government budget process hostage multiple times… are irrelevant to you. I think that perhaps you do no understand the legislative process as well as you think you do.
No, you’re either not understanding my point or being intentionally obtuse. That the Republicans will oppose national health care reform is a given, and has no relevance on internal party policy. My point is that the Democrats failed to keep momentum even within their own party, and attacked anyone who claimed the ACA was insufficient. 2020 was the first election cycle where they finally admitted the ACA was insufficient.
Shifting between attacking positions and throwing the Republicans up as a get-out-of-argument-free card is exactly the same tired rhetoric the Democratic party has been using for decades.
The Dems had control of the House and a filibuster-proof Senate under Obama… and did jack shit. They could have legitimately transformed healthcare and broken for-profit insurance and the Republicans could do nothing about it; but they bickered amongst themselves until suddenly the insurance companies stopped complaining.
I’m not holding my breath.
Theoretically. For 72 days.
But let’s take a closer look at that statement, shall we? Because in my opinion, it’s a blatant lie:
https://eu.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2012/09/09/when-obama-had-total-control/985146007/
So far so good. Well, not filibuster proof.
Oh what’s this? The actual number was really 55 Dems + 2 independents!
Nope, still not filibuster proof.
There’s that filibuster proof majority of 58 Dems + 2 independents.
And when was the ACA passed in the Senate? Exactly in that period, on 24th of December 2009.
The House agreed on it on March 21st 2010, and by then, there was no filibuster proof majority anymore to go further than the ACA.
Oh, and after 2011, Dems never gained house and Senate majority together for a decade. That’s one reason why the US is so fucked, by the way.
Hi, my name is ProcurementCat and I call out people who pretend to be very leftist but actually only make leftist politicians look bad.
Edit: Oh, and there was one major amendment to the ACA, by the way: When Republicans used it for tax cuts under Trump.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Cuts_and_Jobs_Act
It took a filibuster proof majority to pass the ACA, it took 51 votes to turn it into a 2.3 trillion tax gift for the rich. Don’t really hear you complain about that.
Good human
Thank you for the clear, concise, and accurate history lesson.
Yours was such a great and thorough answer, thank you.
While I definitely wish there was more under ACA, but to call it “jack shit” is too far. I know too many people who’ve hugely benefited from it to act like it’s nothing.
I wrote a reply with a little bit of context and explanation to that “filibuster proof majority”. The reality is: After passing the ACA, there was no chance in hell Dems could have gone further.
https://feddit.de/comment/3202985
Not one single time after seeing someone parrot the “ZOMG Dems could have solved all problems if only they’d used that majority they had under Obama” line have I seen them acknowledge the post like yours that almost inevitably follows it.
None of these people seem to understand political capital.
It also gets credit for being the excuse Democrats gave for 10 years about why health care reform wasn’t important anymore. IMO the harm that has come from that momentum halt completely reversed any good the ACA did. If the Democrats treated it like the stepping stone it always was, I would agree it wasn’t “jack shit”.
What more were they to have done and how? They no longer controlled the House/Senate and the GOP had won on a platform of defunding and dismantling the ACA. What sort of support could be expected right now of the GQP?
They should have kept pushing for a full single-payer healthcare system as the policy platform instead of demonizing anyone who dared suggest it. Whether or not they could enact it yet, they’ve completely killed the momentum we had from passing the ACA by treating it like it solved everything. So now that’s the best we’ll ever have for the foreseeable future.
Throwing up the Republicans as an excuse is just typical blame-shifting. As you’re clearly aware, they were never going to be part of any solution, so they’re pretty irrelevant to the discussion.
The opposition party, that holds the House of Representatives, who has held the entire government budget process hostage multiple times… are irrelevant to you. I think that perhaps you do no understand the legislative process as well as you think you do.
No, you’re either not understanding my point or being intentionally obtuse. That the Republicans will oppose national health care reform is a given, and has no relevance on internal party policy. My point is that the Democrats failed to keep momentum even within their own party, and attacked anyone who claimed the ACA was insufficient. 2020 was the first election cycle where they finally admitted the ACA was insufficient.
Shifting between attacking positions and throwing the Republicans up as a get-out-of-argument-free card is exactly the same tired rhetoric the Democratic party has been using for decades.
You’ve clearly never used ACA. It is helping many millions of people and was recently expanded.
You know what would help more people. Universal healthcare.