Transcript form American Morning aired March 22,2010
The
And a separate compromise package of changes that expands the reach of the measure also passed the House and is now set for a Senate vote as early as tomorrow.
ROBERTS: It was a historic moment in Washington as
CNN's senior political analyst
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's certainly the most important piece of social legislation this country has passed since the mid 1960s. I think the more relevant comparison is to Medicare and then going back to the 1930s to Social Security.
In all the three cases, along with the health care at this time, it has a transformative effect upon the way we live, upon the way we -- you know, our financial support for social services. It helps many people at the bottom. It's also expensive.
One difference that I think is notable about this time around is that both Social Security and Medicare passed the
That is a disappointment, I think, and it augurs for a very heated political debate continuing right through these November elections and possibly into the 2012 elections.
CHETRY: Right. And what you mean by entirely partisan is that not a single Republican voted for this? There were Democrats who crossed the line and voted no along with Republicans, about 34, I believe.
What is the significance of that when you talk about such historic legislation passing with one party in complete opposition?
GERGEN: Well, it's -- most of our major social legislation has passed on bipartisan lines, and that includes not only Medicare, Social Security, but Civil Rights 1 and Civil Rights 2 in the mid 1960s.
And when -- when such legislation passes with bipartisan lines, it also brings the public along behind because people then have faith that both parties agree on it. And you'll find all of that legislation of the past has been enacted with majority of public support.
And people looked out and said, well, this must be a good idea. And it's been fairly settled fairly quickly. In this case, not only was it partisan but of course the polls have shown now since last August, some seven months, you know, that the public has been largely opposed to this plan.
And now what we're going to have, of course, is a public relations blitz on both sides to try to convince the public they were right all along.
ROBERTS: You know, as we watch this long and tortuous process over those months, David, you said that the president's entire agenda hinges on whether or not he gets this legislation passed. Now that it's at least passed the two Houses and it looks like they may have the votes to pass this -- this package of fixes in the Senate sometime later on this week.
GERGEN: Right.
ROBERTS: What's the impact on the rest of what the presidents wants to do, with things like energy bills, immigration reforms, and what about the 2010 elections?
GERGEN: Well, all those are very, very good questions. I think the immediate point is that both sides do want to put a lot of emphasis on the public relations side of this bill. I mean the president -- you know came out swinging and he plans to hit the road. And the Republicans plan to launch a blitz against it.
And I think both sides, to some degree, have overplayed their hands. The Republicans claim we're going to see socialism in the morning. We're not. The Democrats claim we're going to see an end of suffering in the morning. We're not.
It's going to take a lot longer to work out both. But to go to your question. Had he lost this, I think it would have crippled his chances of getting additional legislation passed. As it stands, it does rally his troops. I think he's a shot at getting some immigration passed.
I think he's got a shot at getting the energy bill but not a climate bill passed. And -- but what is, I think, worrisome to most Americans, what about jobs? You know where is -- you know we've only had a very puny piece of legislation pass on jobs. And you know, after all, that is the number one current concern of Americans.
Why is there so much continuing diversion to that?
CHETRY: Right.
GERGEN: One more piece of legislation I think he has a better chance of getting through now is some sort -- some form of financial regulatory reform, which will bring with it some consumer protection.
CHETRY: You know, and quickly, what happens to the Tea Party Movement? I mean, you know, this was so much opposition, so much anger out there and so many people were mobilized. They lost. I mean technically they wanted to see, kill the bill. It didn't happen. So what now?
GERGEN: It didn't happen. I don't think these folks are going to go away. And John's question was, what happens in 2010 elections? We're going to have a rock 'em, sock 'em set of elections here now.
This is -- this fight has been so deeply embedded now in the American political argument that it's not going to disappear quickly. And people are going to vote heavily, much more heavily, and clearly the (INAUDIBLE) are going to be out this fall. But now that the president has a chance to rally his own side, the Democratic side, who would have been demoralized with a defeat. They'll be out there too. And that's why we're going to have a fairly titanic clash this November.
ROBERTS: Important to watch those races.
GERGEN: Thanks --