Now dont start wigging out at what Harry just said.....

[Clio the Leo]

The IMPORTANT thing Sen. Reid just said, (while briefing the press from outside the Oval) is that "WE DO NOT WANT TO DO RECONCILIATION UNLESS WE HAVE NO OTHER OPTION!"

....... they're most likely going to go that route (I believe) but they must first bend over backwards to show that they are TRYING to work with the GOP .... so that when reconciliation time comes, they'll seem to be doing it out of desperation, as their only resort. ;)

FYI: Reid just said, "we still want a bipartisan bill, there are still seats at the table for the GOP."

He said that because he KNOWS they're not gonna sit down.

Read between the lines. ;)

ETA: It is CRUCIAL that the Sen. Dems seem as though they are using reconciliation not as bullies because they can .... but as men and women fighting for the American people, using it as a last resort against a belligerent GOP. Comprende?

[elocs]

1. Here's a Rec for hope because by now we don't have much else. n/t

[jenmito]

2. K&R. He also said he wants a public option. n/t

[Parker CA]

3. He also said he hadn't even seen Baucus' plan although lobbyists have had copies to review.

I have a feeling tomorrow night is going to be one for the record books. Obama is going to lay down some serious expectations and demands.

[jenmito]

7. I know. Hopefully, Baucus's plan will be irrelevant, anyway.

Obama is going to talk about a public option tomorrow night-what it is and what it is not according to Gibbs today.

[Parker CA]

8. Gibbs said some intriguing things today. I got the feeling that Obama is going to come out swinging

and that he's going to lay down the law and perhaps even draw that line in the sand in terms of his expectations regarding the public option.

[jenmito]

12. Yes, he sure did. I wrote this post earlier today:

Gibbs sure seemed to be defending the public option today in his press briefing...

reporter after reporter asked him in different ways if Obama will accept a bill without a public option and if he'll disappoint progressive congressmen, and he kept replying by talking about how a public option is important to keep insurance companies honest, also saying tomorrow night, Obama will explain what a PO is and what a PO is not. Sure sounds like he will say he wants a public option.

[Parker CA]

13. The other thing that really stuck out to me was when he avoided the yes/no response to issuing a

veto threat. I really got the sense that Obama may very well lay that down tomorrow and say that if there is no public option, the bill will not make it across his desk. Either way, tomorrow is going to be a very interesting speech.

[jenmito]

16. I noticed that, too...

but I don't think he WILL issue a veto threat. If he does, he could very well get nothing just like Clinton. I hope he makes a strong case for the PO, though, which will get those Dems. now against it to be FOR it.

[Skidmore]

4. I'll believe Harry Reid, why?

How many times has he let us down? How many times has he played the good ole boy club game of footsie that takes place in the Senate? Why should we believe that he will do anything differently now?

[Clio the Leo]

5. "Oval Office" ...... he just left the "Oval Office." ;-) NT

[gkhouston]

6. Oh, for pity's sake, can't they seat the R's at a separate table so they can eat paste

and let us get on with the business of the country? They've got no interest in actually doing anything productive.

[Clio the Leo]

10. See? It's already working! ;-) NT

[Cha]

14. Wouldn't that be nice if that's the

way it worked? And, it might if the repks didn't have the corporatemediaWhores covering their whiny asses 24/7.

[Clio the Leo]

9. And Nancy just moved that ball along.....

"We believe in a public option, but if anyone has another idea, let's here it."

Well, the GOP doesn't have another idea.

This, my friends, is a set up. ;)

[Parker CA]

15. I think that's crickets that I hear. Zip, zilch, nada from the goppers but total fail. nt.

[Phx_Dem]

11. He's right about reconciliation. Here's a statement from Kyl

that was in my morning paper.

"I can tell you the Senate leadership has put together a rulebook, and we're going to make them play by the rules on reconciliation," Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said.This) is going to make it very hard for them to write a substantive piece of legislation. Yes, we will object to every single piece that they try to ram through that is not legal under our rules."

Kyl's right that the GOP will object to every single thing they possibly can, and may end up gutting the bill in the process. We absolutely should use reconciliation if we must, but only as a last resort.

[Better Believe It]

17. You don't need reconciliation. You can pass health care with 50 votes not using reconciliation.

Why do people keep buying that line of shit about needing 60 votes to pass health care in the Senate unless reconciliation is used?