The health care reform plan is in a crucial state for Democrats after a Republican sealed the senate seat with a win on Wednesday in Massachusetts. With the midterm elections coming up, the victory of Senator-elect Scott Brown has put pressure on the Democrats and has stripped them of a 60-seat Senate supermajority.
Currently, top Democrats in Congress and other administration officials are reviewing options to save the health care measure and to continue US President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda.
“I think most of us have tried to weigh what happened in Massachusetts and feel that perhaps we need a little breathing space here to reflect on it, and to chart a course”, Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said. “We haven’t decided on a strategy”.
Robert Gibbs, the press secretary of the White House, added: “We are working through the best way forward. Health care continues to be a priority”.
The results, according to Brown, are reflective of the change voters want in terms of how Washington runs the country. “Maybe there’s a new breed of Republican coming to Washington”, said Brown to reporters on Wednesday. “Maybe people will finally look at somebody who’s not beholden to the special interests of the party, and who will look to just to solve problems”.
Meanwhile, the empowered Republican body has been urging Democrats to withdraw the current version of the health care reform and reset certain proposals.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said that the Congress needs to “stop this unsavoury sausage-making process called health care reform”.
“The people of Massachusetts have spoken for the rest of America”, he said.
