Sunday is the big day, and the whip count is turning into a real nail-biter. Whether you love the bill or hate it, you may be wondering: what the hell happens next? I did some reading, and I think I've got it more or less figured out. Below the fold is a handy flowchart showing where HCR goes from here.
RED ARROWS lead right back to the drawing board.
PURPLE ARROWS write the Senate bill into law.
BLUE ARROWS lead to a new round of voting.
GREEN ARROWS write the reconciliation bill into law.
If you're still fuzzy on the difference, OpenCongress compares the crucial aspects of the Senate and reconciliation bills side-by-side here.
Of course, these are just the defined options for the immediate future - I'm trying to keep the chart as simple as possible. There are better but more tentative fixes further out, such as Harry Reid's promise (of which I am somehow skeptical) to hold a separate vote on a public option, or (even better) Alan Grayson's Medicare buy-in proposal.
Personally, I think we would do well to consider that these bills do not represent the finish line. They represent, rather, a stepping stone towards real universal healthcare, a leg on the long journey towards ending corporatocracy. Passing the present reform is an important first step - one that we cannot afford not to take.