WI: Clintoncare passes in 1994, with bipartisan support

What would have happened if the GOP supported Clinton's healthcare reform plan in 1994, and it got signed into law?
 
What would have happened if the GOP supported Clinton's healthcare reform plan in 1994, and it got signed into law?

If fails from both lack of Democrats support (they never had a plan(s) that a majority of Democrats would support, or explain) and lack of census on the left outside the party and Congress meant no "real" pressure from the base. Remember it was Democrat Leadership (they controlled both Houses 93-94) that never let "it" (no one really knew what it would be) come to a vote. That's also why the Anti-Hillary care ad campaigns worked, health care reform supporters really had little to fight back with.

If you want health reform (whatever that is...) to pass your going to either need a far-far-far more competent Clinton Administration from day one... that actually gets ALL the Democrat/Health care reform players (especially "elected" ones) on the team, and LISTEN to them, OR hands the leadership of effort to someone ( Congressmen/ SMEs who've worked the health problem... No Teddy!), which will get you the first COA...)
 
If fails from both lack of Democrats support (they never had a plan(s) that a majority of Democrats would support, or explain) and lack of census on the left outside the party and Congress meant no "real" pressure from the base. Remember it was Democrat Leadership (they controlled both Houses 93-94) that never let "it" (no one really knew what it would be) come to a vote. That's also why the Anti-Hillary care ad campaigns worked, health care reform supporters really had little to fight back with.

If you want health reform (whatever that is...) to pass your going to either need a far-far-far more competent Clinton Administration from day one... that actually gets ALL the Democrat/Health care reform players (especially "elected" ones) on the team, and LISTEN to them, OR hands the leadership of effort to someone ( Congressmen/ SMEs who've worked the health problem... No Teddy!), which will get you the first COA...)

Honestly one major reason the ACA passed was because of the lessons of Clintoncare, and the perceived reputational damage the party would take if the second major stab at comprehensive health care reform they'd tried failed. The second time around, policy entrepreneurs, patients groups, sympathetic industry groups, academics, and members of Congress all had consolidated behind similar proposals. Which is why the ACA closely resembled the campaign proposals of Obama, Hillary, and John Edwards, and why it closely mirrored plans by outside groups and the Massachusetts plan. So one element of a successful Clinton health care push might be that a major effort had been tried either during the Carter years or even by the Democratic Congress in the George Bush years but failed.

There's still the challenge that the numbers in the Senate weren't as good. But it's possible that, given weaker partisan polarization, a more successful and earlier push could potentially have gotten a few Republican crossover votes.
 
Bipartisanship is tough. If you think the GOP just happened upon the idea of obstructionism in 2009, think again. The 1993 healthcare bill was specifically targeted for failure by the GOP, not because of specific policy disagreements, but because they knew that successful healthcare legislation under a Democratic president would be a PR windfall, and an electoral disaster for the GOP.

So just like previous threads on the board where we talk about stopping obstructionism in 2009, we have to find a way to stop it in 1993. I understand how partisan it is to say this, but the easiest way is probably to get the Dems to 60 in the Senate. Lotta close races in '92. A nationwide swing of about 1.5% would see five more seats go to the Dems and put them up to 61.

The state of partisanship today, the GOP still wouldn't come to the table if you invited them, but in the early 90s things are just heating up, and I have to imagine the party would welcome the opportunity to make the bill more conservative in exchange for a show of bipartisanship. Or at least the remaining moderate faction would.
 
I think you have to distinguish two different things here. It was possible for Hillarycare to pass if the large number of Democrats who preferred some other plan (above all the large liberal single-payer bloc) decided that they just didn't have the votes for their alternative and reluctantly supported the Clinton administration's plan. That after all was how the ACA was (just barely) passed in 2010.

But pass with Republican support? Not a chance. The GOP had moved right since the days when Nixon presented his healthcare plan (and even then it is not clear how many would have supported it) but even if they had no ideological objections at all they would not let the Democrats get a bipartisan triumph with a bill that was so easy to attack, e.g. with the chart Dick Armey provided Bob Dole:
ClintonHealthCareChart630.jpg
 
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