In a nutshell, this is where I am on health care reform: Democrats need to move forward with or without Republican help while also maintaining some of Republican ideas already in the Senate version and should also consider some of the better ideas Republicans spoke about yesterday. They should do that to make the bill better, whether or not it garners at single GOP vote. They should use the reconciliation process. And it is misleading to say nothing this massive has ever been passed this way. One, the Bush tax cuts, which totaled almost $2 trillion, were passed this way. And two, the Senate has already passed a bill without reconciliation, and using reconciliation to make tweaks to a bill already in existing is commonly done. Considering all the failed attempts to make progress on this extremely important issue and how close we are to enacting reform this time around, Democrats must move forward with or without Republican help. If they don't, they should pay dearly at the ballot box this November and in 2012.
Brooks: Not As Dull As Expected
Krugman: Afflicting The Afflicted
