If you think that the Congress in 2009/2010 would have passed Single Payer legislation

[CBHagman]

76. That they got anything at all passed is rather remarkable.

Remember the drama surrounding Bart Stupak and other antiabortion Democrats?

[url]http://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1973963,00.html[/url]

Stupak nearly brought down the House version on the bill last November when he objected to the abortion language in the legislation. At the last minute, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed to an amendment authored by Stupak that barred any federal funds from subsidizing abortion on the health care exchange that is expected to be set up in 2014 to provide insurance to upwards of 31 million uninsured Americans. Prochoice groups were outraged, accusing Stupak of moving beyond current law, and the amendment was stripped out in the Senate and replaced with softer language that Stupak and his group felt did not go far enough. Sunday's last-minute Executive Order, expected to be signed by President Obama immediately following passage of the bill, was the compromise that allowed Stupak and his group to vote for final passage of health care reform.

House Democratic sources credited Representative John Dingell, the longest serving member in the history of Congress and dean of the Michigan delegation, for bringing Stupak around. Stupak, a Dingell protégé, was in tears when Dingell lost his House Energy and Commerce gavel to Henry Waxman last year — the committee is the only one Stupak has served on since his election to Congress in 1992. Health care reform has been Dingell's top priority during his 54 years in office and, in fact, the House bill was named for him. "Mr. Dingell had a piece of me yesterday for quite some time," Stupak told reporters Sunday to laughter. "John Dingell is one of my nearest, dearest, closest friends. I'm glad for John Dingell to have this day."