Finally! Democrats will no longer talk about getting 60 votes (supermajority). It’s what Sen. Ted Kennedy would have wanted. Many Democrats and independents in Massachusetts understood this. Now Democrats have to pass health care through reconciliation (51 votes).
As to other differences between supermajority and reconciliation rules­­ — well, good luck finding someone who can explain it! Let’s just say, Bush passed everything through reconciliation and got everything he wanted. If he wanted, he would have passed health care through reconciliation in a couple months. So, why is Tuesday’s election good for health care reform and Obama?
When Democrats needed all their 60 votes (including two independents), they had to please both liberals and conservatives. They agreed on most of the bill, but not on few critical components, like the public option (and Medicare-55). As a result, the bill was watered down to a level that angered the liberals and independents who wanted a “G-20 universal health care.”
The House doesn’t have supermajority and reconciliation; simply majority rules (50-plus percent). More liberal than the Senate, the House barely passed a bill with a public option, 220 votes to 215. Something everyone knew, but no one wanted to admit, is that without the public option or Medicare-55, the Senate bill doesn’t have the votes to pass in the House, and the House bill with a public option can’t pass in the Senate­ — unless you give up supermajority!
With 59 votes now, but only 51 needed in reconciliation, Senate Democrats can pass the House bill! They can pass the public option. They can also pass Medicare-55. Why not both? Why not Medicare-50? Imagine a simple bill that has: (1) expanded Medicare up to 50-year-old Americans, (2) expanded Medicaid (for children) up to 25-year-old Americans, (3) pre-existing conditions are illegal, (4) you don’t lose your health care when you lose your job, and (5) use advanced technology to cut administrative costs and improve communication and quality. That’s how you get yourself re-elected, Obama. That’s also change we can live in.
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