Perhaps the biggest blunder the Republicans made about the healthcare bill was letting it be about abortion.  There were so many things wrong with the bill that centering on the abortion issue ended up obfuscating other issues that were far more objectionable to many others.

It should have been no surprise that the Democrat holdouts would have come together at the end. Democrats will argue out their differences in heated debates during the process, but they are less likely than their opponents to subject their party to hard litmus test issues, especially on such a signature bill as this one. It is wrong to blame Stupak. No matter how outraged opponents may be, it is the majority of Democrats that had no problem with the process, the bribes, and the odorous content that should hold accountable.

The voters will now have substantial time to read and study this bill over the next few months before the November election. It will not be rushed and subject to stifling house rules. Every objectionable aspect of this bill will be blogged, e-mailed, twittered, and facebooked.

But if the Republicans want to make good use of the campaign tool they have been handed, they need to focus on all the aspects of the bill found so unpalatable.

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