Jerome has mentioned in his daily polling diary that Martha Coalkley is up by 11 points over Republican Scott Brown in an internal poll in the Massachussets Senate race, which takes in two weeks. 11 points may sound like a lot, but Coakley appears to be barely at 50% and Republicans are far more energized right now. The question is, what happens with healthcare if Democrats lose their filibuster proof majority?
The answer I believe would be that conference be skipped and the House simply accept the Senate bill without any changes, since Brown or any other Republican would not support any kind of healthcare reform in the Senate. There is simply no way healthcare reform will be able to go back to the Senate in this case.
Yes, liberals in the House might kick, scream, and cry, but they need to know that the Senate cannot pass a bill again, let alone accept one that is better than the current one.
My question is: Will Democrats simply ping-pong the bill if Coakley loses? They will simply have to.
Fortunately, Coakley should still win this race and be the 60th vote for post-conference healthcare bill.