The Nation‘s Washington editor, Chris Hayes, talks to Keith Olbermann on Countdown about bipartisanship in healthcare reform. While President Obama and prominent Democrats like Max Baucus reach out to Republicans on the Hill and play insider games, Hayes notes, they have largely forgotten what made the Obama campaign special and put them in power in the first place: people-powered organizing. Hayes points out that conservative senators like Chuck Grassley and Mike Enzi have little reason to vote for a healthcare bill, and Republicans will run against the healthcare bill in 2010 no matter what, so wasting time on bipartisanship instead of focusing on passing the best possible bill is a bad idea. The real political benefit, he notes, will come from making people’s lives better.

—Sarah Jaffe

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