Market reaction to Mass. Election

Here's the lead story for Marketwach.com today: (excerpt from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-gain-as-health-stocks-rally-2010-01-19?dist=afterbell)

"The stock market hit a new 15-month high Tuesday, spurred by the biggest jump in health-care shares since the summer as traders bet on the outcome of a Senate race with big implications for proposed health-insurance reforms."

Sue, as much as you want to believe that insurance companies & big pharma love this bill, the reality is they would prefer NO BILL!  Today's stock market action clearly shows this.  Looks like these stocks are soaring in lockstep with Mr. Browns election chances!

In addition, here is a comment from a Wall Street insider, in the same article:
------------------------
"Not only could today's race turn out favorably, but the signal here is that we could also be headed for November elections that would cause some real gridlock" if the balance between Democrats and Republicans tips further in Republicans' favor, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

"From the market's standpoint, that would be exactly what the doctor ordered."
------------------------
So please, please, please, don't try and tell me that big business is on the side of the Democrats on this bill or anything related to healthcare in general.  It's so clearly NOT the case.

With this in mind, I stand by call to invest in healthcare stocks if the Republicans are in charge of healthcare reform.  Looking at the market action and comments, I'm not the only one who sees this as an obvious and rational course of action.

And lastly, I only saw two digs on Republicans in my last blog.  Here they are with some clarification:

"So if I were looking at this issue solely in terms of 'enlightened self-interest' I would have to vote no.  But then I was never one to look at these types of problems like an accountant or a Republican."
--All I meant here was that Republicans have traditionally espoused free-market thinking, in which the market works best when everyone acts in accordance to their own enlightened self-interest.  Enlightened self-interest means, in effect, acting on behalf of others because doing so will help yourself.  If that is not a central conservative economic tenet, then I have thoroughly misunderstood people like Thomas Sowell, who seem to live by this.

"Because, as I see it, the only people who will benefit from a Republican healthcare solution are the insurance companies and their rich shareholders."
-- As indicated by today's market action in response to the Mass. election.

None of this, for the record, reflects my thoughts toward you personally.  I disagree with you, but I in no way find you disagreeable.  We are family, after all!