If we don't pass any Health Care Reform with 59 Senators and ~257 House members, what's the point?

[CreekDog]

I mean if suddenly Democrats I like (Barney Frank et al) are suddenly non committal about health care, and the "centrists" are running for the Republican hills, then what the hell else can we give them?

Are they basically telling us they can't promise us health care reform until we get them 61 Senators and how many more House Democrats?

I mean really?

Because if that's the message, that in order to get even something, we need more votes. Then, what the hell??? I give up because that's going to take decades to do and it will take a party and a president willing to put it all on the line to get it done. I'm waiting to see if we have that now...waiting. Prove me wrong.

I can understand being stymied by the Republicans, I can't accept Democrats not getting something on health care while having 59 or 60 Senators and a 40 seat majority in the House.

They have power, not unilateral and thanks to the filibuster, not even as much as their majority should command, but they freaking have power.

Act like it or you won't keep it. They have the ability to pass into law something good, though not something perfect. Do it.

Give up and I give up too.

:rant:

[daa]

1. Look, call them out on the filibuster

Bring in the mattresses and make them stay up all night, night after night, and let the American people see what they are doing. Big Dog let Newt shut down the government and who got killed? Newty and the the repugs. Just saying I filibuster and everything stops does not show the American people what is going on. Make the repugs bring everything to a halt. Make those old coots stay up all night. Make them vote on the record.

[DrToast]

2. That's not how the filibuster works.

[daa]

4. So how did this happen?

The record for the longest individual speech goes to South Carolina's J. Strom Thurmond who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

[DrToast]

5. Like this

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/11/how_robert_byrd_jr_created_the.html

[daa]

7. Thanks, the usual, we did it to ourselves eom

[CreekDog]

3. Pass some damned thing

I need more than rhetoric right now.

Deliver something that can be gotten with the votes they have.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. Dem senators are failing they need to march together

the Whip should be able to get them ALL to support a single payer. They've never done anything with the supermajority.