I'm tired. Really tired. We fought. We yelled. We wrote letters. We saw our Congress people. We signed petitions. We gave money. We wrote more. We said more. And we couldn't get to 60 with what we wanted.
We never had 60 for a public option. We never had 60 for a public option compromise. We never had 60 for Medicare buy in. We never had 60 for single payer. And we never had 60 for the half the bill that could not be covered by reconciliation. We lived that pipe dream - that one of the recalcitrant Senators that would not allow an up or down vote would somehow allow one for half the reform bill if he was bypassed (Let's be honest, it's a bunch of he's named Lieberman, Nelson, Conrad and Baucus). We never had 60 and apparently we couldn't get there.
So now I say - before you complain about weakness, sell outs, blame the President, blame Harry Reid, blame people like me - where were your 60 and how were you getting there? Where were your compromises? What were you willing to give up? How were you getting Joe Lieberman to vote with you? Or Olympia Snowe? Or Ben Nelson? What was your magic plan? You primaried Lieberman in 2006 - how did that work for you? Snowe is a Republican and more popular with Dems than Republicans in her own state - what were you doing there, because the ad campaign didn't work. Ben Nelson is a Democrat in a red state that Obama couldn't carry in a movement election - how were you getting his vote? Blanche Lincoln is done but won't admit it, how do you get her vote?
Tell me how you get to 60 today, tomorrow or next month. How? Reconciliation won't work. You won't get the exchanges. You won't get the pre-existing condition ban. You won't get the end of rescission. You won't get regulation. At least 41 Senators would stand and block that vote on "principle" and what comes through reconciliation would have to die. So where and how do you get your 60?
Do you get your 60 with the strange claim "if Harry Reid was tougher this would happen?" What does that mean? What is he supposed to do that he isn't already doing - talk tougher? Does he punish Lieberman and then think he gets his vote?
Does President Obama raise his royal scepter and decree that Senators obey him? Does our constitution allow that? Did we approve of this when the Republicans let it happen? Or is it only a good thing when we want it? What magical pony is the president supposed to ride in to make this happen?
Where are our 60 votes and how do they happen?
The 60 votes we have now. They insure another 30-35 million people. Did we forget that number in the great political battle of getting our way? Did we lose sight of the goal of helping these people because we wanted to beat the Republicans and conservaDems? I admit bias here, this legislation will help my family. It will cost money, but that's OK. Because we can buy insurance with this bill. We can't without it. Pre-existing conditions will do that to you. We don't qualify for subsidies, we make too much. But that's OK - all we wanted was to be allowed to buy insurance.
There are millions of people like me. Earlier this year this community supposedly cared about us. We were going to be able to get us insured. We were willing to pay a little more to do it but we would let it happen. Then progressives got suckered by Republicans and single payer advocates into making this all about the public option. F-ck the public option. The way it exists right now I couldn't get it and neither could most people currently uninsured - but this bill get's us insurance and wasn't that the important thing? I know it was to me. And supposedly it was to people earlier this year.
So when you find your 60 that would help the 35 million uninsured that are going to be covered by this come back and talk to me. We fought for better, we tried, and sometimes we lose. But we are going to get health insurance for 35 million more Americans as it stands right now. Find me your 60 that get me this and better and I'll continue to listen. Don't find 60 and you can just go away.
We'll get our bill. We'll HELP 35 million Americans and then we'll work on building what we have. Because the fight isn't over. But if we give up now we're done for another generation and people can't afford that. Let's start, let's figure out how to get our 60 or kill the fillibuster and let's fight another day. But all or nothing, that's a waste.
Find me your 60 and change my mind. Find me your 60 and tell me where the better bill is. But right now I will celebrate what we get because it will help millions. And while you fight for those 60 votes that aren't coming how many people are going to die?
I hear people insulting Senators with how many people are going to die each day they delay. Well, kill this bill and how many people are going to die because of this community? Netroots kill this bill and they better acknowledge the blood on their hands, it's not solely with the 2 or 3 ConservaDems and 40 Republicans. If we kill healthcare reform it's on us.