Robert Reich: Do it with 51 votes

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2010/02/22/healthcare_51_open2010/index.html

Do it with 51 votes
The 60-vote requirement for healthcare is made up. 51 is a majority, and it's all we need
By Robert Reich


snip//

So what’s been stopping Obama from using reconciliation? Even if some of the arguments held water before now, none does any longer.

My free advice to the President: If you want to get healthcare enacted you must use reconciliation and quickly. Host your bipartisan gab fest at the White House on Thursday. Tell Republicans you’ve been eagerly awaiting their ideas for over a year, but the American public can’t wait any longer. Explain to them how our current economic mess is directly related to the health care mess -- we’re paying 16 percent of our GDP for health care while health insurers are hiking rates and Americans are losing their health insurance every day. Then tell the House and Senate to get to work on putting their bills together (or tell the House Dems to enact the Senate bill and then save their disagreements for reconciliation), and tell Harry Reid you want the Senate bill on a fast track of reconciliation.

Explain to the American people you understand their impatience. The Constitution does not require 60 votes in the Senate to pass legislation. A majority will do. That’s called democracy.

[sandnsea]

1. Except the last 8 years

Whenever the right screamed for an upperdown vote, we always said the filibuster represented the voice of the minority.

Do people really have no sense of shame when they spout these complete inconcsistencies?

There isn't a thing in the world wrong with taking one last stab at following the same rules that we demanded Republicans followed when they were in charge.

There's always time for the 51 votes.

[Jennicut]

2. The Repubs decided to filibuster every single last thing.

Pure obstructionism on everything. The party of no without debate. At least make them do a real filibuster then if we cannot do it that way then reform the filibuster and go for reconciliation.

[sandnsea]

4. Yep. But I don't think the majority knows it

Going through this process on health care, this one last time, ought to make it crystal clear. It's worth it to get people to thoroughly understand what is going on. Better to make this one fight longer and even uglier - in order to not have to do this again. Climate change is going to be a lot tougher to pass than health care reform.

[Cosmocat]

3. ah ...

This has been knocked around for almost an entire year, and the Rs have done nothing, N O T H I N G constructive, and have politicized it to death ...

The Rs NEVER engaged the Ds in ANYTHING and simply ramed crape through ...

They had their chance, for almost a year ...

All dragging it out any longer is going to do is allow them to negatively frame it without any postitive of getting it done ...

There is No, ZERO chance they participate in any way, and EVERYONE knows it ...

Get it done ...

[sandnsea]

5. I don't think everyone does know it

But after this week, with Obama giving them a very visible chance to be sensible - THEN everyone will know it.

But I still say we will regret doing this when we need to filibuster in the future. ANWR would have been gone a long long time ago if not for the 60 vote rule.