McCain: Kennedy's Absence Is Damaging Health Care's Prospects

McCain: Kennedy's Absence Is Damaging Health Care's Prospects

Health care legislation would be in a "very different place today," if Senator Ted Kennedy, (D-Mass) were healthy enough to participate in negotiations, Kennedy's longtime colleague and occasional foe, Sen. John McCain, (R-Ariz.), said on Sunday.

In an appearance on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," McCain said that the Massachusetts Democrat, stricken by brain cancer, was "as close to being indispensable as any individual I've ever known in the Senate." Without him, McCain added, the health care debate had stagnated far more than had he been in the chamber.

"He had a unique way of sitting down with the parties at a table and making the right concessions, which really are the essence of successful negotiations," McCain said. "So it's huge that he's absent, not only because of my personal affection for him, but because I think the health care reform might be in a very different place today."

Kennedy has reportedly kept on top of health care legislation's progress in Congress from his family compound in Hyannis Port. This past week, the longtime Senator wrote a letter to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and the state legislature, urging the institution of a succession process whereby the Governor would be allowed to make an immediate Senate replacement until the state could hold a special election. The Boston Globe reported that state lawmakers have coolly received the proposal, with Republicans claiming it to be a partisan power grab.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/23/mccain-kennedys-absence-i_n_266388.html

what a legacy!

than it makes 60 votes in the senate much less likely.

forget for a minute his famous ability and willingness to bring differing sides together.

McCain is an idiot. However about the last paragraph in your article. Why has Massachusetts legislators, haven't started initial plans for a special election months ago. So they could hit the ground running when it was needed. They knew Kennedy wasn't well was a while.

HIS party is lying through their teeth about health care reform and demonizing everything about it, but it's all because Kennedy is not involved. Good to know McCain is still delusional.

letting the health insurance companies continue unchecked, i.e., no reform whatsoever.
Dream on, loser. If Teddy were present ... and how I too wish that he could be/have been, Max might not have capitulated as quickly as he did and the Senate bill would likely include a public option, at the very least.

*******
You lost, John. Your ideas have not evolved since the stale old ones you campaigned on last year. They lost too.
What an idiot.
Who wants to bet that he hasn't even read the proposed bill, only the GOP talking points since he trots them out verbatim?
Although his selection of Sarah Palin clearly demonstrated his callous opportunism and extremely poor judgment such as to negate any credibility he might have about anything, I for one am so glad that he chose her because too many American voters might otherwise have voted for him ... perhaps not enough for him to win, but certainly in large enough numbers to make the election more of a race than it was.
Thank heavens that he did not win!

I hate to see this coming. I didn't realize it was terminal, until I heard that term on TV recently. I still thought he might recover.

The passing of an era. And there's no Kennedy to take up the gauntlet.

responsibility for his dipshit party fucking up.

mcpalin is a heinous excuse for a man.

what's their excuse not to do the right thing.

It seems to be a new meme: we cant pass the reform because Kennedy is not there. F*ck them.

Lots of petty petty people on that Hill.

And then this fake sack of shit, sometimes called John McCain, goes on to call for the White House to drop the public option.

Senator, you are no Ted Kennedy.

Acting like Obama has not been bending over backwards to be bipartisan...and he wants Kennedy in for the "concessions". Right.

I thought that Ted would be able do a lot over the phone, but person to person is probably far more effective.