President Obama and Sen. Reid have a responsibility to the party and to the country to make that crystal clear and not allow these conservative democrats to hide. Their "principals" are unpopular and they can't defend them; don't give them a free pass. Call them the out. The Democrats have a responsibility to govern efficiently and letting five or six members filibuster reform is wrong. Don't protect bad Democrats.
I'm astounded at the mendacity present in Sen. Landrieu's comments. What proof does she have that people think a public plan is a "free lunch?" These are not the kind of democrats we need or want in power and if they're going to filibuster historic legislation; let them.
Democrats have 60 votes. Any filibuster that occurs is a DINO/Republican filibuster and it must be made clear. The party has the votes and it's democrats stopping reform. Republicans are irrelevant. The principles of health reform they're advocating are popular. They're fiscally responsible. For two years the party has run on health reform in the 2008 election. We have a clear and direct mandate to fundamentally reform the health care system and we've been compromising away all the good legislation to produce the "bipartisan" Baucus bill. But fortunately, four other committees have turned in good work.
So, lets take the good. Because at the end of the day the party will be judged on results not ideology. Right now, everyone is screaming about government takeover of health and demanding protection for Medicare. In two years, everyone will be demanding protection of the public option and Medicare. Good legislation will lock in voters and breed trust.
The Democratic party has to recognize, this country is in a fragile place. We have just come back from the brink of a massive recession. Jobs are being lost at an astonishing rate. Two wars and massive tax breaks for the rich and no regulatory oversight over the last administration has led to massive income inequality and nearly broken our economy.
There is a lot to fix and fixing health care is an important first step. People are tied to a lot of jobs b/c they need the insurance. Opening the door to innovation requires the creation of an entrepreneurial safety net; and that's what health reform provides. You can go an open a business and still have great health insurance. It takes the pressure off of businesses and increases your take home pay by reducing insurance costs. The public plan is vital to doing all of these things.
Don't give Olympia Snowe the power to destroy this unalloyed good. A trigger, which the White House supports, is stupid. AHIP has shown, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield seconded, in two recent studies that insurance companies WILL raise rates. Likely, higher than they're saying. The country has been shot. This bill is a tourniquet. We need a public option NOW and we have 51 votes on the senate floor to get it done.
Don't allow these conservative democrats to stand in the way. Make them filibuster. Then go and do this through reconciliation if necessary. It'll be an imperfect result; but the political benefits outweigh the costs. It's like the government shut down Bill Clinton faced. The party and the president will be stronger for having taken this stand; and these conservative democrats will get shot down along with the Republicans who join them. This is a fight we WANT and NEED to have.
Make them own this. Let them stand up in public in support of the insurance companies and against this historic legislation. I bet anyone that Evan Bayh is not going to vote against health care reform that provides massive benefits to the people he was elected to represent because of some theological fear of "big government."
The ads would write themselves.