HPHWD

Bipartisan politics” takes many different forms: the Affordable Care Act passed with a strong majority of Democrats in the House and Senate, but not a single Republican voted for the legislation. This is more than a bit ironic, since the stamp of Conservative ideas and policies is all over the legislation. That odious individual mandate, for one, was first championed by the rightwing Heritage Foundation and the overall legislative blueprint comes from Romneycare. They may deny it now, but several Republicans in the Senate – Olympia Snowe, Charles Grassley, and Mike Enzi to name three – had a heavy hand in drafting the legislation (which they ultimately did not vote for). Although this backchannel contribution of Republicans has not softened the partisan bickering about the law, it signals that there may be more bipartisan agreement around social policy than roll call votes reveal.