McCain: Start over on health care reform

PHOENIX -- Arizona Sen. John McCain said the election of fellow Republican Scott Brown to the Senate seat held for decades by the late Edward Kennedy sends a signal that the Obama Administration and Democrats need to rethink their approach to health care.

"Stop this unsavory, sausage-making process," McCain said after Brown's election wiped out the Democrats' "super-majority" of 60 votes which allows them tight control over Senate procedures.

"A shot was fired saying no more business as usual in Washington, D.C.," McCain said of Brown's election.

Although some Democrats -- notably House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- vowed to continue the fight for Obama's health care plan, McCain said that would be a mistake. Pelosi has suggested she might give the House a chance to pass the bill already passed by the Senate in an effort to bypass having to reconcile House and Senate bills and taking a compromise back to the weakened Senate.

"I think it would be an act of incredible arrogance to push this health care bill through the Congress because the American people overwhelmingly don't want it," McCain said.

He said Congress should start from scratch on health care, with input from both Democrats and Republicans.

"There's a long list of ideas that we have that we think is good for the American people and good for the health care system in America," McCain said. "Maybe this wake-up call last night will motivate the Democrats and the president for the first time to sit down and negotiate seriously with us."

In his acceptance speech Tuesday night, Brown mentioned that McCain had called to congratulate him on his victory.

McCain's analysis of Brown's victory was shared by many, including Northern Arizona University political science professor Fred Solop.

Solop said Brown's victory could mean trouble for Obama's health care reform plan, as well as other items on the president's agenda.

Solop said the Republicans now can "work against any kind of a veto that may come or any kind of procedure to hold up processing of business in the Senate."

Obama's plans for health care reform, as well as immigration reform, may be affected, Solop said.

"We have the health care agenda which is uncertain at this point with Scott Brown being elected," he said. "We have the immigration agenda which was next up. The other big issue at this point is the economy. It's additional bailouts, it's stimulus money, it's job creation."

Solop added, "Republicans are empowered by this election, the conservatives are empowered by this election, the tea party enthusiasts are seeing this as a huge win."

He said Brown's victory could set the stage for Republicans to gain more seats in this fall's elections.

Solop said Republicans also could interfere with the president's desire to change regulation standards.

Arizona State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat and member of the White House health care task force, was not totally pessimistic about Brown's win.

She said Congress has several options for moving ahead with health care reform.

"One is that the House could simply adopt the Senate version as it is," she said. "I'm not keen on that version because Arizona gets kind of a short-shrift in that version."

Another option would be for the Senate to draft a new bill, she said.

Former Mayo Clinic Chief Executive Officer Dennis Cortese said Republicans and Democrats could work out a compromise if they would.

"We're not going to get a total system that's a free-for-all with private insurance," said Cortese. "We should be able to use the federal employees' health care plan, which is private insurance companies providing options for people, and the government can step in to help to support folks to buy the insurance products."

Cortese said the Wyden-Bennett bill, introduced 2 1/2 years with bipartisan support would do that, but it was never acted on because the two sides were fighting over a single-payer system.

Cortese doubts that the Republicans and Democrats will get together.

"I suspect there won't be a willingness and the whole thing will die and we'll have a catastrophe in the country," he said.

Valley physician Dr. Eric Novak said he agrees with the majority of Americans who don't like where health care reform is headed.

"I would urge the Democrats and the White House to pursue health care reform, but let's start over," he said. "Let's put patience first and not simply have a dialogue between the lobbyists and the people in power in Washington."

Novak added, "I have read the bills and they're almost unintelligible, and I don't see how it is anything other than a collection of special deals."