Your Daily Dose of Health Care Reform Stupidity

My goodness.  One day since Harry Reid revealed he'd be including the public option in the Senate bill, and the next thing you know everybody and his brother's either threatening to filibuster or is too shy to say.

You'll be shocked to learn that Queen Snowe is now prepared to filibuster.  Buh-bye, bipartisanship - not that there was ever a true chance at that anyway.  Good riddance, sez I.

It should surprise no one that Joe Lieberman's all for filibustering the final bill, although he'd vote for cloture to at least bring it to the floor for amendments.  Everything but the war, eh?  Riiight.

Harry Reid thinks he's full of shit.  Steve Benen's a little more cynical.  Can someone please explain to us why Dem senators have such a rosy view of Lieberman?  Is it blackmail?  Does he have compromising photos of himself sucking off various Dem leaders in a swingers' club?  What's the deal?

Lieberman's attempts to explain himself - a different flavor every month! - are less than convincing.

I just hope Gibbs is right, and that Lieberman's constituents will destroy him if he fucks health care reform over.  I don't have much hope, but at least it's Connecticut - there's a chance they'll be smart enough to kick his arse to the curb.

One group other than Cons is happy with Lieberman's bullshit: health insurance stocks.

Elsewhere in the Dem caucus, Blanche Lincoln's still playing all coy on whether she'll join the Cons for a filibuster party, and Evan Bayh can imagine health care reform failing.  I'm sure he can.  He's got a good imagination, beginning with imagining he's a Democrat.

So is that it?  Is the ball back in Conservadem hands?  Not necessarily - the Dem leadership's having some one-on-one discussions with recalcitrant Dems, which if done right may bring the caucus together.  More hopeful is the fact that Wyden and Merkley are on the warpath, determined to bring the public option to the masses.  If they gain some momentum in threatening to pull the legislation to the left, it's possible the Conservadems will settle for what they can get. 

In the House, it's looking like the robust public option doesn't yet have enough votes, but that doesn't mean House liberals are giving up.  And Steny and Nancy want everybody to know they'd better be prepared to stay the duration - no break till reform is done.  If they hold to that, the threat of spending Thanksgiving on the Hill may concentrate a few minds.  Heh.

I wonder if this will prompt Dana Milbank to write another whine about those damned libruls.  Aren't Villagers just precious?

And speaking of precious, it's awesome to watch Cons whining about how their leadership hasn't brought out a reform bill of their own.  Harder to shake the Party of No label when you have to say "no" every time folks ask if the Cons have an actual bill, innit?