text: If I recall, Republicans early on worked on versions of the bill in committee.  They supported the 'Individual Mandate', a conservative approach, but then used it to distance themselves from the act and any further involvement.  Of course, we know now that Republicans main, if not only, goal had become blocking any of Obama's initiatives, and making him a one term President.  It also seems to me that many of the 1000+ pages of the bill were changes used to appease Republicans, hoping to gather some buy-in.  Those are the things that should have been worked out by committee and compromise.  As for rushing it and pushing it through, the alternative to that was to let it die (again) and tell suffering and dying Americans without access to just go to hell.  Surely none of us baptized, Catholic, Christians would be willing to go that far.