Kent Conrad's appearance on This Week made him an easy pick for this week's Sunday Loon Watch:
Transcript:
CONRAD: You know there are six of us on the finance committee, three Democrats and three Republicans who have been given the responsibility to come up with a proposal for our colleagues...
CONRAD: Look, there are not the votes for Democrats to do this just on our side of the aisle. This is going to require...
STEPHANOPOULOS: So it's just not possible to have a Democrat-only bill?
CONRAD: No, it is not possible, and perhaps not desirable either. We're probably going to get a better product if we go through the tough business of debate, consideration, analysis of what we're proposing...
STEPHANOPOULUS: Are you going to finish your negotiations by August 7?
CONRAD: You know, we're going to finish when we're finished, and we're doing everything we can to get it right. We're moving with dispatch, we meet hours every day, we've got the best analysts in the country helping us. We'll be ready when we're ready.
How stupid does Kent Conrad think we are? Even if Harry Reid subjects the bill to a filibuster, it will only require 60 votes to bring the bill to a vote -- and there are 60 Democrats. Reid could also get creative and use the reconciliation process, which would only require 50 votes (and a lot of work with the parliamentiarian).
Whichever path Reid choose, in point of fact, it actually is possible to pass legislation without Republican support, and Kent Conrad knows it.
The real problem is that Kent Conrad doesn't want it to pass without Republican support, and by unilaterally declaring that without GOP support he (and perhaps a few other Democrats) won't support health care reform, he is effectively giving the them veto power over the legislation.
If Conrad sticks to his guns, Republicans can just say "no" to health care reform, knowing that with his insistence on a bipartisan bill, Democrats won't have the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster.
Alternatively, if Republicans want to pass an inadequate reform measure, they can effectively force Conrad to agree to anything, potentially creating a situation where Democrats are forced to vote against health care reform.
Kent Conrad has created a very big mess for Harry Reid to clean up. Whether Reid figures out a way to use reconciliation or comes up with some other way to apply pressure to Conrad, he's the one who needs to step up to plate and take back the reigns of leadership from Conrad.
Whether or not he is successful will define his legacy as a public official.
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Join the discussion in icebergslim's recommended diary, "Republican votes are NOT NEEDED to pass health care reform."