Inside D.C.

Do it correctly, not quickly

Commentary

I don’t work the health care reform issue, mainly because I don’t have a client who pays me to do so and health care reform is so far out of my comfort zone it isn’t funny. But I’ve had three people today ask me “Is the

Senate going to pass something?”

What’s disturbing to me is that either through statement or implication, what these folks are reacting to is stories in the press about how Congress will work through Christmas to get health care reform done so it can hand President Obama a bill before year’s end. The inevitable follow-up question is: “Isn’t it more important to do it right rather than do it fast?”

The answer to that question is “yes.” And this answer applies to all legislation not just health care. I’ve never understood House Speaker Pelosi’s (D,CA) penchant for arbitrary deadlines to pass legislation. It signals an intolerance of debate and compromise to play let’s make a deal every time one of your deadlines looms large.

A large part of this rush to action is symbolic. Congress wants to hand President Obama a “win” on his biggest campaign promise, and they want to show that a Democrat-controlled Congress can deliver to a president of their own party. This demonstrates collaboration and no small amount of control. This would be happening if the Republicans were in control — remember “The Contract with America?”

But everyone in this town knows that when you propose groundbreaking legislation — health care, climate change, food safety and so on — you will not make everyone happy. At the same time, there’s a remarkable lack of internal fortitude among politicians who wish to be reelected, and controversial legislation during an election year generally does not happen. To put this in context — next year is an election year; this explains the Christmas gift approach to health care reform.

A good example of how partisanship morphs into a group hug is the climate change bill in the Senate. Pelosi rammed her chamber’s version through on one of her deadline runs. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D, CA) thought she could pull off much the same thing when she brought her draft bill to her Environment & Public Works Committee for markup. When the Republicans refused to show up for the markup, they sank the Boxer bill. All of sudden, Sen. John Kerry (D, MA) is reaching out to everyone and anyone from the other side of the aisle, trying to hammer out a bipartisan bill that can survive the Senate floor debate. Again, get it done as early as you can so it doesn’t become an election issue.

But with Congress’ approval rating a point or two below whichever profession is the least trusted by the public right now, President Obama could make some serious points with the general electorate if he’d stand up and say, “There’s no hard deadline on (pick your issue)because the impact of what we’re attempting to do is so sweeping that getting it right the first time is what really matters.”

Politics is the art of the possible. It’s possible to do “this” — defined as any issue you truly care about — correctly the first time.