This is my first diary so please be gentle about any mistakes I make.
I have seen a lot of complaining and moaning about the likely final bill that will be voted on tomorrow. I agree that it is far from what we all wanted and hoped for. There is blame being put on the President, on Lieberman, on Nelson, on misguided activists and host of others for the shortcomings of this legislation. People are angry and disappointed and that is understandable. I hope it inspires us all to keep pushing for more reform.
But, what I have not seen enough of, is putting the blame where it really and truly belongs - on the backs of the Republicans in the Senate. They are the real obstacle to any meaningful reform. They are the reason we have to get all 60 votes from the Democratic caucus to get anything passed at all. And they are why we have to negotiate with selfish people like Lieberman and Nelson.
Remember, it is the Republicans who said they would never vote for any healthcare reform bill. They want it to be Obama's Waterloo. They have done everything they could to make it impossible for any bill to pass, no matter what was in it or not in it. They have spent months lying over and over in order to gin up public opposition to the bill. They and their enablers at Fox News brought us the Tea Parties and the Obama as a socialist/communist/fascist Nazi witch doctor who wants to kill your grandma. They inspired thousands to call and write their congressmen and senators to rant against this bill. And why? Not because they don't think we need reform in this country but because they know we do. They know healthcare reform is desperately needed and so they have done everything they can to keep it from happening all so that a Democratic President can't get credit for helping make a terrible situation a little better.
With their lockstep obstructionism we are left with needing every last vote from our 60 caucus members. And that means that our less noble members (I'm looking at you, Senator Lieberman and you, Senator Nelson) get to insist on bribes and watering down the bill as far as they can because they know, without them nothing passes. It's their way or no way. Nelson you might be able to punish but not Lieberman. You can take his chairmanship in 2011 but I don't think he even cares about that any more. He just wants to hurt this President in any way he can get away with. Yeah, they are both jerks. There is no doubt about it. They are selfish and short sighted. But, thanks to the Republicans, we need them.
The thing to remember is the biggest villains aren't those two greedy, nasty Senators or the President or the activists or the Obama supporters. It is the same people who it's been for a long time now. It's the Republicans. Let's try to remember that.