Let Them Filibuster

President Obama and the Democrats need to make the right choice on healthcare reform.

Lets face it: the Republicans have been winning the healthcare debate this summer. After a couple of very tough weeks filled with loud, scream-filled town hall meetings and wide-spread misinformation campaigns (such as the idea that the government plans to pull the plug on your grandma), the Democrats head out of the summer recess without the huge lead in the polls they entered July with.

The public option has been all-but abandoned by President Obama, and progressives have been left stunned and furious. After years of carefully refining the healthcare message and planning out the process, Democrats were absolutely sure that this was the year it would happen. We had the popular President who won on a platform of change, the Democratic super-majorities, and the general public that seemed receptive to change.

Oh how the tide has shifted. In the past months, Democrats have been caught off-guard completely by the GOP conspiracy theory machine and how easily the people bought it. But the problem is not the GOP dancing its usual dance. It is the people for some reason, listening. Want proof?

According to recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal polling, the various misinformation about healthcare has stuck with a large group of people.

For instance, 45 percent believe the false claim that legislation includes “death panels” while 55 percent believe the false claim that coverage will be extended to illegal immigrants.

Does this mean that we won’t get the healthcare reform we have needed for so long? Does this mean no public option, the center-piece of true reform? Maybe not.

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) declared that there’s “no way” she can pass a health reform bill through Congress “without a public option.” She added that a watered-down compromise was unacceptable because “I don’t know when we’d do it [comprehensive reform] if we don’t take that giant step now.”

Things are different in the House. In the House, all three committees released bills with public options, and the Democrats have a sufficient majority to pass it barely (it would be similar to the stimulus vote).

However, most people have been assuming that a healthcare bill with a public option will not be able to track 60 votes in the Senate, a much more conservative institution usually averse to change, and they are right. What they are forgetting is that a bill does not need 60 votes to pass the Senate; it only needs that amount to avoid a filibuster. Technically, if the Democrats pass a healthcare bill with, let’s say 55 votes (which is realistic) with a proper, robust public option (which is by the way an already watered down version of single-payer health care, something supported by around 100 House members), then it still passes. After that, the Republicans have the opportunity to filibuster the bill (talk forever to stop it from passing), as long as cloture is not invoked (60 votes needed).

Basically, Congressional Democrats should force Republicans to filibuster health care reform in the Senate. Why would the Democrats want to do that? Think about it.

A real reform bill would be passed, and Republicans would have to put up or shut up and have their entire delegation (with some Democrats) filibuster and vote against cloture. And after that?

As James Carville said last week,

“Then, you say, ‘They’re the people that stopped it. We had a majority of Democrats. We had a good bill. They stopped it.’” See what will happen to Republicans in 2010 if they stand for three weeks trying to kill a still-popular bill by reading the bible through the night, as 48 million people do not have health insurance.”

Imagine the ad campaign the Democrats could run. During the GOP filibuster (which by the way would require every single Republican in the Senate and some Democrats to join), there would be TV and Radio commercials of sick old ladies who can’t afford their hip-replacement surgery, or a family of 4 who can no longer afford their dream house because the husband cut his fingers off in an accident, and the medical bills are just too much.

They would look directly into the camera and say, “please let them pass the bill.” And just like that, the Democrats have a platform for 2010.

“We delivered the change, they said no.”

By all means, this potential filibuster would be covered by cable-news through the night, with bunk-beds and Red Bull at the ready in the Senate cloakroom. This is a big fight the Democrats should not be afraid of fighting.

And by the way, this would not be seen as a glorified stand by the Republicans. A new poll by Survey USA finds that the idea is as popular as ever amongst the American public:

More than three out of every four Americans feel it is important to have a “choice” between a government-run health care insurance option and private coverage, according to a public opinion poll released on Thursday.

A new study by SurveyUSA puts support for a public option at a robust 77 percent, one percentage point higher than where it stood in June.

Obviously, some people would not be happy that the Democrats abandoned the “bipartisan talks”, but it really does not matter. Nate Silver notes that

Republicans have absolutely no incentive to give the Democrats a victory on a health care package. Credit, I guess, goes to Chuck Grassley for basically admitting as much, but the Republicans — who until recently had outmaneuvered Democrats at virtually every stage of the health care debate — made a pretty significant tactical error by giving the Democrats such a good excuse to go it alone.

Obviously, Republicans won’t be happy with a Republican-less bill.

“We need to get a bill that 75 or 80 senators can support,” says Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.). “If the Democrats choose to shut out Republicans and moderate Democrats, their plan will fail because the American people will have no confidence in it.”

This comment only has one problem. The goal is healthcare reform. Not healthcare status quo, and the Democrats must have that in mind.

Now is finally the time for the battle Democrats have been waiting for, and they must fight it strongly. We need healthcare reform, and we need it now.

The Democrats still face a whole host of obstacles in passing a health care bill, but they should seriously consider passing the current House bill that includes a vibrant public option, and let the Republicans filibuster a great bill, one that will cut costs and premiums while expanding coverage for the ailing American people.

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