Dems Round Up 60th Vote for Health Bill
CBS News – Appearing on "The Early Show" Saturday, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he believed not only that the Democrats would gain and hold 60 votes, but that the public would back them.
"The insurance companies are not going to continue to get their way the way they have during the Bush years, and the way they're trying to get the Republicans to slow this down and block it at any price," Brown said.
"I think the public is ready for this change," he said, promising the bill would strengthen Medicare.
He also said people who have health insurance can keep what they have, while gaining "good, strong consumer protections."
"There are a lot of things in this bill that the country is ready to move on," he said.
When asked about objections by Republicans to the reform package, Brown pointed to arguments made 40 years ago against Medicare. "Very few Republicans supported it because they didn't like the idea of government involvement in health care, and clearly Medicare has worked. And most people in this country understand this is the direction we need to go.
"This bill is not perfect," Brown said, pointing to its lack of a Medicare buy-in (which he had supported), but said, "Reform really never ends. We need to keep fixing this system and making it work better."
