Obama's Waterloo

Over the Summer, when Jim DeMint claimed that by blocking health care reform it would be Obama's Waterloo he was really saying that the Republicans would not support it only because it was Obama's agenda. Even if there were ideas the Republicans liked they would unite against it, use their media machine to squash it, and stomp all over the bloody remains of it.
Yesterday I heard two stories on NPR, the last Bastien of true journalism. One highlighted the fact that the current Health Care bill passed in both houses is not that dissimilar than the health bill the Republicans crafted to counter the Clinton bill in the '90s. And, I heard Lamar Alexander (R-TN) state to Robert Siegel that the Republicans favor a step by step approach and not the comprehensive approach favored by the Democrats

SIEGEL: But realistically, are we at a moment when if Republicans could see three of their six steps combined with three things that Democrats like and that you might not like that much, are we at a time when that actually can make sausage in the legislature? Or is this a time when nothing is going to happen?

Sen. ALEXANDER: Well, we could, but wouldn't it be better to say can't we find three things we all agree on? I would think allowing insurance to be sold across state lines to increase competition, reduce prices might be one of them. Usually, we agree on...

SIEGEL: But some people would say in that case, the risk you run is that the least regulatory state, the elusive state might put out insurance policies, might regulate them and there would be a race to the bottom and everybody would buy policies from state X where they don't do much in the way of regulating insurance.

Sen. ALEXANDER: Well, that's true, but that's a problem you would have to address in the legislation, but permitting more competition across state lines might be the better result. I think on any of these proposals, the difference between Democrats and Republicans isn't just left versus right. It's step-by-step versus comprehensive in our goals.

Siegel didn't let him off the hook he said the Republican energy plan calling for 100 nuclear plants, offshore drilling, and making half of the cars electric sounds like a huge program. Alexander said "Well, it's four steps, though. Each of those four steps is not a big surprise. It's these 2,700 page bills that are big surprise."

So a bill, just because it's 2700 pages, is a big surprise and the status quo is better? Sounds to me like they want to humble Obama even if it hurts Americans. They only want bills in simple 4 step process and will ignore the very ideas they promoted 17 years ago just because they are coming from the other side of the aisle.