The Washington Monthly

THE BACKUP PLAN, CONT'D.... by Steve Benen
With Democratic leaders now expecting to see the Senate caucus shrink from 60 to 59 seats, the dominant question of the week is over the fate of health care reform. There are some Dems who believe the entire initiative will implode the moment Scott Brown is declared the winner (if he's declared the winner) in Massachusetts. . .
The New York Times added that Democratic leaders have already "begun laying the groundwork to ask House Democrats to approve the Senate version of the bill and send it directly to President Obama for his signature.". .
My hope is that hand-wringing Democrats are able to put aside their electoral panic just long enough to realize that failure on health care reform cannot be an option. If Ezra's piece this morning isn't being emailed around on the Hill yet, it should be.

Democrats should pass health-care reform because it's the right thing to do. They should pass health-care reform because between 18,000 and 45,000 people die each year because they don't have health-care insurance, and this bill will save many of those lives. They should pass health-care reform because it will prevent countless medical bankruptcies and an enormous amount of needless chronic pain and infirmity. They should pass it because it will take important steps towards cost control. They should pass health-care reform, as my friend Chris Hayes says, because it's important for the American people to see their government doing more than starting wars and bailing out banks. They should pass health-care reform because it's the right thing to do, both for the millions of people whom it will directly affect and for the country as a whole.

. . . These inconvenient facts won't disappear simply because Martha Coakley is the Bill Buckner of Senate candidates and because some Massachusetts voters experienced a dramatic lapse in judgment.

via washingtonmonthly.com

As a woman who is severely "sports fan" challenged, I would like to remind Massachusetts Democrats of something. If you are considering staying home rather than vote for a female who does not know a Yankee from a Red Sock, please think again. Put your citizen-self out there and give Martha Coakley a break. She may be remote, elitist, late to the party, etc. but her middle name is No-Filibuster for the U.S. Senate. Get over it.

Posted via web from Southwest Postings