Given the unending stupidity of health care opponents, I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that among them it has become an article of faith that voting against a filibuster is exactly the same thing as voting for a bill.
It's not. A vote against a filibuster (technically, a vote for cloture) is a vote to limit debate.
Take, for example, what happened in 2003 with the Bush prescription drug coverage bill. The bill passed the senate with 54 votes. (In case you're a Republican and you can't do the math, 54 is less than 60.) Meanwhile, 70 senators voted against a filibuster of that bill.
That means 16 senators who voted to end a filibuster also voted against Bush's prescription drug bill. Does that mean those 16 senators supported Bush's bill? No. There's plenty of reasons to oppose a filibuster, chief among them that you think there has already been enough debate on the issue.
At this point, the idea that we've already had enough debate really shouldn't be that controversial. Anybody who tells you that they need more time to debate health care is a liar or a Republican or both. (And really, what's the difference anyway?)
So why might you want to end debate on a bill you oppose? Let's say you wanted the Senate to be able to consider things other than health care reform this year. In that scenario, even though you might oppose reform, you'd still vote against a filibuster, simply because you don't want the clock to run out on other issues.
Now, Republicans obviously want nothing to happen, not just on health care, but across they board. They want this administration to fail. They don't care what happens to the American public or the American economy. If pain and suffering helps them politically, then that's what they will aim to inflict on America.
The whole reason they want to drag this out is not just that they want to stop health care. They want to stop everything, and if that means tearing this country down, then that's what they'll do because they just don't give a damn.
Any Democrat who votes for the filibuster ought to keep this in mind: they aren't voting against health care, they are for doing nothing at all. They are voting for the Republican political agenda, no matter the cost to this nation. They are casting a vote that reveals not just their absolute stupidity, but also their contempt for the American people.