This is a class blog for the students of POLSCI 426: Congressional Politics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Counterfactuals in Health Care Reform

Try your hand at explaining this claim from House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn: "I don't think we would have ever gotten health care if we stayed on that 60-vote strategy. I really believe that that was a blessing in disguise."

1 comment:

Nicholas Reindl said...

I think one could argue that 60 votes just gave more power to Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman to have the bill continually watered down in the Senate, to the point where the House and Senate would have been just too far away from each other to pass anything.

I think you could also say that Sen. Browns victory scared a few Democrats in the House into doing something, rather than nothing at all.

Perhaps Dems have learned from 1994, if you do nothing you don't get what you want and lose your seat. Pass something, and you can at least have a ledge to fight on.

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