Demcrats Lose a Seat to the Republicans

A victory for the Republicans on Captiol Hill has pushed the Health Care Reform Bill to the brink of defeat. On Wednesday, Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts seat in the Senate after defeating Democrat Martha Coakley. This victory creates an unusually situation for the Democrats in that they no longer are able to stop fillbusters and delay tactics by the Republicans. Now, Democrats only have 59 votes, one short of what is needed to pass the bill. This strips the Decromats of their 60 seat Senate majority and gives the Republicans enough votes to block most political measures imposed by the Democrats. This is a stunning blow to the Democrats just prior to the midterm elections.

There are a few options that the Democrats have to proceed with the health care bill. The House of Representatives can pass their version of the bill and send it directly to the President to be signed into law. The lawmakers could construct a new scaled-down draft of the bill that is capable of getting passed by both of the chambers. The Democrats could also try to push the health care bill through the Senate with only a 51 vote majority. This opens the door for Republicans to delay the process with technical and procedural issues. Republicans have already released a statement that requests proceedings to stop until Republican Brown has been sworn in and can vote on further legislation.