I'm fed up with all the delay over passing Healthcare Reform. All of the Republicans are moaning about socialism.
Jane Hamsher, Markos, and all of the progressives are moaning about the actual details of US legislation.
The urgency of passing Healthcare Reform can't wait for anyone or anything.
We must heed the calls from the experts that even momentary inaction would kill our hopes.
Just listen to Ezra Klein, the poet/activist most associated with advocacy for the Lieberman/Baucus/Obama Bill, who today writes:
Nothing happens in 2010. Or in 2011. Or in 2012. In 2014, when the bill really begins, the insurance situations of 18 million people change. A full 16 million of those people are uninsured. Aside from the small sliver of people who will pay a surtax on the final few dollars of uncommonly expensive insurance plans, the country simply will not notice this legislation.
We're reforming the margins of the health-care system. The small and non-group markets, which serve a small minority of the population. The uninsured will be the main beneficiaries, while the vast majority of Americans who get their insurance through their employers, or through the government, will see no difference, at least in the first 10 years or so.
If we were to stop the current corrupt little bargain cut in a room with three men:
Joe Lieberman
Harry Reid
Rahm Emanuel
then we would have to move to a process called "reconciliation" to pass healthcare reform.
Under reconciliation, we could pass a bill with only 50 votes, thus getting to entirely ignore the opinions of Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Olympia Snowe, Blanche Lincoln, and pass a bill with votes that more identify with the Democratic Party.
Reconciliation has rules that would not allow certain portions of the current bill, however, it would allow the following to pass with only 50 votes:
- A robust public option
- A Medicare buy-in for those 55 to 64
- Reasonable subsidy levels
- A funding mechanism that forces the wealthy to pay their fair share
- Changes to expand Medicaid
Speaking of legislation that could pass with only 50 votes, Senator Tom Harkin said tonight on The Ed Show:
"Right now, we have at least 55 votes solid for a public option."
But the real reason we must pass the Lieberman/Baucus/Obama bill is because of time constraints. If we were to table the current 60 vote legislation and move to reconciliation, think of the additional time:
It would take weeks.
The Lieberman/Baucus/Obama bill MUST pass before the State of the Union. Otherwise, the President will be up in front of Congress without a great triumph, and then, if I have my math correct, it means Sarah Palin wins.
So you whiners who care about the actual content of US legislation need to just shut up. We have a schedule we need to keep. And besides, we don't really pay Senators enough to deal with this for a few more weeks.
Remember, we don't have weeks to wait:
Nothing happens in 2010. Or in 2011. Or in 2012. In 2014, when the bill really begins...
Stop the 60 vote process. Move to reconciliation. Pass genuinely good legislation with 50 votes. Let your representatives in Washington know how you feel.