A probably unwelcome thank you
I would like to take a moment, on the 5th anniversary of chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006 (better known as the Massachusetts health reform law) to thank some of the people responsible for making it happen. (Some of these are people I know personally, having interviewed them for a paper in graduate school. Some, like Mitt, I know only by reputation).
From the Great and General Court:
In the Massachusetts State Senate:
Former Senate President Robert Travaglini (D Revere)
MA state senator Richard Moore (D Uxbridge)
In the Massachusetts House of Representatives:
MA House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi (D 3 Suffolk (Boston)) (He may be a felon, he may not, but he helped make it happen. And as yet, he is presumed innocent, remember).
Representative Carl Sciortino (D 34 Middlesex (Medford/Somerville))
And let's not forget:
From the Governor's Office:
former Massachusetts Governor Willard Mitt Romney (R still not POTUS)
Yes, folks, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and becoming perennial presidential candidate, was one of the primary architects of chapter 58. And honestly, I think that's an achievement he ought to be proud of; he reached across the aisle, worked with people who thought differently than he did, and made something happen. He thought outside the box, and helped push it through. For those who feel it's an unwarranted intrusion into your lives, think for a moment what kind of health reform a Democratic governor, working with a Democratic legislature, might have passed.
I'll wait while you stop shaking.
There, feel better?
Seriously, I'm really bothered by the fact that Romney feels like he needs to hide one of his biggest accomplishments. If I were advising him, I'd say something like this: "Mitt, listen. Give up attracting the base of big donors who hate the law; they'll never forgive or forget, and you'll never be president that way. Go out there, and tell people how proud you are of having made that happen. How it shows you can work with Democrats, and that you'll work with anyone with a good idea, in order to get the people's business *done*. Because that, sir, is what people want. In the end, only the fringe is interested in all the he-said-she-said crap that's been passing for governing recently. Most people want you to work together, find ways to reconcile your differences, and MOVE THE HELL ON. (Anyone remember what MoveOn started as? It was a group which wanted to Move On from the whole Lewinsky scandal, viewing it (correctly in my opinion) as a distraction from the serious business facing America at that time. Perhaps if we had, we might have addressed some of our current problems before they asplode all over the landscape. I'm not fond of what they've become in a lot of ways, but when they started I was all for them).
Really, we need to stop fixing the blame. It's what we think we're good at, when in fact we are not; the finger of blame points all ways, really. It's time, folks, to fix the problems. In my sole opinion,. in 2006, Romney, a few policy wonks, and a couple of reps and senators got together, and worked out a compromise health restructuring which was a model for the nation. Was it perfect? Oh, HALE no; it sucked in a lot of places. But that's the nature of making law; like so many things, lawmaking is an iterative process. Make a law, then tinker with it to make it work, or keep it working in the face of changing circumstances. And occasionally, you truly do need to scrap something and make new, because the topsy you create through endless iteration can, unless done very right, end up eating you. But in my sole opinion, chapter 58 was pretty good for a first attempt. And Mitt was one of the architects.
Well done Mitt.
From the Great and General Court:
In the Massachusetts State Senate:
Former Senate President Robert Travaglini (D Revere)
MA state senator Richard Moore (D Uxbridge)
In the Massachusetts House of Representatives:
MA House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi (D 3 Suffolk (Boston)) (He may be a felon, he may not, but he helped make it happen. And as yet, he is presumed innocent, remember).
Representative Carl Sciortino (D 34 Middlesex (Medford/Somerville))
And let's not forget:
From the Governor's Office:
former Massachusetts Governor Willard Mitt Romney (R still not POTUS)
Yes, folks, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and becoming perennial presidential candidate, was one of the primary architects of chapter 58. And honestly, I think that's an achievement he ought to be proud of; he reached across the aisle, worked with people who thought differently than he did, and made something happen. He thought outside the box, and helped push it through. For those who feel it's an unwarranted intrusion into your lives, think for a moment what kind of health reform a Democratic governor, working with a Democratic legislature, might have passed.
I'll wait while you stop shaking.
There, feel better?
Seriously, I'm really bothered by the fact that Romney feels like he needs to hide one of his biggest accomplishments. If I were advising him, I'd say something like this: "Mitt, listen. Give up attracting the base of big donors who hate the law; they'll never forgive or forget, and you'll never be president that way. Go out there, and tell people how proud you are of having made that happen. How it shows you can work with Democrats, and that you'll work with anyone with a good idea, in order to get the people's business *done*. Because that, sir, is what people want. In the end, only the fringe is interested in all the he-said-she-said crap that's been passing for governing recently. Most people want you to work together, find ways to reconcile your differences, and MOVE THE HELL ON. (Anyone remember what MoveOn started as? It was a group which wanted to Move On from the whole Lewinsky scandal, viewing it (correctly in my opinion) as a distraction from the serious business facing America at that time. Perhaps if we had, we might have addressed some of our current problems before they asplode all over the landscape. I'm not fond of what they've become in a lot of ways, but when they started I was all for them).
Really, we need to stop fixing the blame. It's what we think we're good at, when in fact we are not; the finger of blame points all ways, really. It's time, folks, to fix the problems. In my sole opinion,. in 2006, Romney, a few policy wonks, and a couple of reps and senators got together, and worked out a compromise health restructuring which was a model for the nation. Was it perfect? Oh, HALE no; it sucked in a lot of places. But that's the nature of making law; like so many things, lawmaking is an iterative process. Make a law, then tinker with it to make it work, or keep it working in the face of changing circumstances. And occasionally, you truly do need to scrap something and make new, because the topsy you create through endless iteration can, unless done very right, end up eating you. But in my sole opinion, chapter 58 was pretty good for a first attempt. And Mitt was one of the architects.
Well done Mitt.