Thursday, December 17, 2009

Three Thoughts on the Senate Health Care Situation

  • Progressives can't really complain that Joe Lieberman is stabbing us in the back on health care reform, because he's been doing it for so long now. We should turn around and take his knife from him.
  • Joe Lieberman remains chairman of the powerful Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee because the Senate Democratic caucus lets him. They can stop empowering him whenever they like.
  • Democratic Senators continue to pretend that they "need" 60 votes to pass major health care reform. At any time they choose, they could kill the current bill and pass meaningful health care reform with as few as 50 votes (with Biden breaking the tie), using the reconciliation process. Or better yet, they could nuke the filibuster entirely and bring majority rule to the Senate.
More to follow later on the latest comprise to the compromise to the compromise to the compromise to the compromise [sic] to the health care system we ought to have.

3 comments:

Chris said...

The senators should go all J. Caesar on J. Leiberman on the Senate floor.

Becky said...

I'm starting to agree with Howard Dean. They need to junk this and start over. I mean, what exactly is still in this bill? I worry that they'll just pass a do-nothing bill that will enrich the insurance companies, make things worse, and push real reform farther into a hazy future.

Veronica said...

I think I'm starting to agree with that assessment too, Becky. I must say, though, I did enjoy watching that clip of Al Franken basically telling Joe Lieberman to shut up. And I don't really see why they don't just let the filibuster happen for a while. Give us all a chance to just tell the senators who have no plan for alternative reform to shut up. I mean, if the majority of Americans support the public option, wouldn't a long and drawn out filibuster of any kind of reform hurt the Republicans' chances of reelection in 2010?