COLUMBIA (AP) -- The U.S. House majority whip says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's dealmaking on health care legislation lost a key seat in Massachusetts but eventually led to the right strategy to win the vote.
Jim Clyburn said Monday that the election of Republican Scott Brown to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat ended up being a turning point in passing the overhaul last week, calling it a "blessing in disguise."
Clyburn says the loss led to Reid abandoning efforts to get a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority and instead concentrating on gaining a simple majority.
Jim Manley is a spokesman for Nevada Democrat Reid and disagreed with Clyburn's assessment. He says the Senate can't avoid filibusters as easily as the House and deals were made in that chamber, too.
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