Tonight's loss in Massachusetts brings a moment of clarity. Out of the big fat lemon we got tonight, we have the opportunity to make some pretty fine lemonade. For a year, we've gone through the debate between regular order and reconciliation. Now, thanks to Scott Brown and Martha Coakley, we get to have both. The Senate bill sends shivers up our spines, but it puts into law the basic structures of health care reform: rudimentary but essential insurance reforms and health insurance exchanges. With that law, we can use reconciliation this year, next year, and the next 50 years to make our universal health insurance better.
We can have the Senate health care bill and fix it, or we can have nothing now and for the next 10-20 years. It's good policy and good politics to pass the bill now. Let us make Republicans rue the day Scott Brown won because it means that Democrats will not see their work as done, but rather as unfinished business that we will run on and win on again and again and again.
Tell your Congressman to vote for the %&$*@# Senate bill and then FIGHT ON in reconciliation, FIGHT ON in November, and FIGHT ON in 2012! Here's my letter:
Dear Congressman Garamendi,
In spite of its deep flaws, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to vote YES on the Senate health care bill. As a small business owner, I need this bill because only one company will insure my business and they raised my rates 68% this year. As a taxpayer, I need this bill because it will start containing the spiralling health care costs which are throttling our nation's vitality. As a citizen, I need this bill because it is a moral imperative to ensure that all Americans receive the health care they need. So vote for the damn bill, then make it better in reconciliation this year and each year for the rest of your career in Congress.
Thank you.