Both Sides React to Health Care Reform Vote

Noblesville, Ind. (WISH) - Prominent Democrats and Republicans in central Indiana are speaking out as the House approved the Health Care Reform bill later this evening.

Former senior advisor to President Karl Rove spoke with 24 Hour News 8 before a book signing in at Hamilton Town Center in Noblesville.
Rove blasted the healthcare bill, saying it will cost 2.4 trillion dollars in the first 10 years of it's operation and will be paid for by what he calls Bernie Madoff-style accounting.

" This will be bad for the country, it will poison politics for decades to come." Rove said.

"If you look at the polls from February and March of last year, by a margin of 2 to 1, Americans were in favor, if you look at the last 2 weeks, and look at the poll questions that say, do you support the bill being supported by Democrat leaders and the President, it's 38 percent support and 60 percent oppose." he added.

Democrats fired back.

"The Congressional Budget Office which is the bipartisan arbitrator of these things says it bends the cost curve down, and reduces the deficit." Kip Tew, a former state and Marion County Democratic Party chairman said.

" If you have a preexisting condition, insurance companies can not deny you coverage, if you get sick they can't drop your coverage,those are two of the most important things I think are in the bill." Tew added.

President Barack Obama and House Democratic
leaders struck a last-minute deal with abortion foes to secure
the final few votes needed to remake America's health care system.
Obama lobbied by phone from the White House, then took the
crucial step of issuing an executive order that satisfied a small
group of Democrats who demanded that no federal funds be used for
elective abortions. One of them, Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, has
now thrown his support behind the bill after leading the holdouts
in a rebellion that had left the outcome in doubt.