In thinking about the narrow vote in the Senate to proceed to debate of the healthcare bill, I can’t help but be reminded of the movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow. For those who never saw it, the movie features two separate but parallel story lines each commenced by a single incident – Ms. Paltrow either making it to her subway train before it leaves the station, or just missing it. This event triggers a series of events that are completely different simply because of getting on the train or not. In one story line she walks in on her boyfriend cheating on her, which leads her to enter into a period of self introspection and then liberation. The other story line resulted in her staying in a failed relationship without knowing of the affair. The contrast of the two story lines demonstrates how seemingly minor moments in our lives and history have a lasting and chain-reactive effect on our futures.
How is this relevant to the current healthcare debate? It appears that the events that led to the 2008 election may just turn out to be the most significant in U.S. history. An exaggeration? I think not. A few seemingly benign events have transpired in the past 5 years that have taken us in a direction that has ensured the necessary Senate votes for and placed us on the precipice of a government-run healthcare.
The first Sliding Doors moment, which involved Jack Ryan, a wealthy investment banker and then husband of actress Jeri Ryan, who was the leading Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois in 2003. Mr. Ryan admitted to an affair that crippled his Senate bid and opened the door for then State Senator Barack Obama to step into the national political scene. But for Jack Ryan’s affair, there is a high probability that either John McCain or Hillary Clinton would be President. Not to say that Barack Obama would not ascend to the Presidency at some point, but he was the “right” candidate at the right time in history. Minus Ryan’s affair Obama would have missed his window in history and his ascendance would have been either eliminated or delayed.
The next Sliding Doors moment involved the Minnesota Senate race between comedian Al Franken and then U.S. Senator Norm Coleman. While victory appeared to be in the hands of Norm Coleman on election night last November, a series of court actions and what seemed to be an endless stream of coincidentally “discovered” uncounted ballots in the trunks of election officials’ cars ultimately spelled the demise of Coleman and the installment of a Saturday Night Live clown in the most powerful legislative body in the world. Still one short of the necessary 60 votes needed by the Democrats to jam their agenda down the throats of Republicans, this was a critical step in that left direction.
Third, and arguably the most significant Sliding Doors moment given that should Hillary been elected she would have pushed the same healthcare policy, was the unscrupulous and false prosecution of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. For those unfamiliar with the events pertaining to the indictment, conviction, then exoneration of Senator Stevens, and perhaps unknowing of the man, the Senator was accused by a team of rogue and politically motivated Justice Department prosecutors for failing to disclose “gifts” supposedly given to him. These gifts allegedly included underpaying a construction contractor for the renovation of his home, a statue of a salmon, Christmas lights, and some other items. A combination of perjury by the contractor, false evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, and a political piling on by the Democratic Party led to the narrow defeat of Senator Stevens last November.
Senator Stevens – an orphan child, WWII veteran, Harvard lawyer, former U.S. Attorney and Interior lawyer, and father of the state of Alaska – fell victim to misconduct that has given the Democrats their 60th vote in the Senate, may ultimately result in the irreversible alteration of history via healthcare reform.
So while we can argue whether we made or missed the train in 2004 and 2008, some things are clear. One less fling, a few less “found” ballots, and one less prosecutorial goose chase, and a government takeover of healthcare is not even on the radar.
Ken has more than 13 years of legislative policy, legal, and communications experience. As General Counsel and head of Nahigian Strategies, LLC’s Legislative and Government Affairs practice, Ken provides an expertise on a wide range of issues pertaining to federal trade, consumer privacy and protection, transportation security, automotive safety, healthcare, and product safety.
