To those who want to "kill the bill", a question...

[brooklynite]

How do you propose to start from scratch with the same elected officials (most facing an upcoming re-election campaign), and the same Republican/Democratic split and achieve a different result?

I'm sure that some people here will support threatening the obstructionists with primaries, but 1) not all of them are up for election next year, and 2) most are in conservative districts where a liberal challenger won't have much impact.

I'd be okay with (but not dedicated to) Single-Payer, and would really like to have a Public Option, but I'm willing to accept the current bill (which establishes a principle that everyone deserves health care and places new regulations on the Insurance Industry) as a starting point to move the goal posts in our favor, and then amend it to be better down the road.

[WeDidIt]

1. Go with the House Bill

Take that up in the Senate via reconciliation.

[brooklynite]

3. IN which case you give up the opportunity to reform the Insurance Industry

Reconciliation only applies to budget items.

[Mojambo]

4. Yep. You won't get a worse bill.

The Republicans may procedurally kill it bit by bit, but at least the lack of a bill will be ALL THEIR FAULT.

The Democrats are better off with no bill and running against conservatives who kill it than passing this horrible Senate bill.

Frankly, they're in bad shape no matter what...

[Bucky]

7. Nice thought but tell me: Which one of the 41 Republicans fears Obama to vote for cloture?

Someone's got to be flipped from the other side. They're outnumbered but they have discipline... and frankly I don't think Lieberman is the only Fifth Columnist they have planted in our ranks. I think we need to talk about the nuclear option in the Senate. I think it's clear the old rules are dead.

[seeinfweggos]

12. bingo

[Cant trust em]

2. I guarantee that we have a smaller majority after the mid-terms. nt

[mike_c]

5. here's a damned good start....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7235528

The key is to start from a position of strength and to make strong demands. This "reform" was low-balled from DAY ONE. It was always doomed to either fail, or worse. The House version is failure enough. The Senate legislation is far worse.

[valerief]

6. Working Americans need their own CIA. nt

[Bucky]

8. Amen.

And the Senate needs a lot less CYA.

[BlueIdaho]

9. I'm sorry its over - no chance for meaningful change in our lifetimes.

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that we will see meaningful health care reform. Nor will we see any sort of climate change legislation or worker protections passed any time soon. I'm deeply sorry, I wish I was wrong - but the fat cat's win again. The congress of the United States is broken and we can forget about them ever doing anything for the "little guy" until someone figures out how to chase every last lobbyist out of DC.

Until that happens the President should concentrate on remodeling the White House or Gardening or his golf game. It would be a better use of his time.

[earthside]

10. Kill the filibuster.

Senate Democrats should use the 'nuclear option' (that was conceived by the Bill Frist and the Republicans) to kill the filibuster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option

Then the majority in both houses of Congress can pass a single-payer or another version of a genuinely progressive health care bill.

It all boils down to the Senate Democratic leadership having the guts to make their own body more 'small d' democratic.

But it won't happen, will it? ... because they don't have any guts.

[laughingliberal]

11. I'm thinking you kill the filibuster or you pass the bill under reconciliation

Either of those options puts us back to majority rule and avoids the problem of one man holding the entire country hostage.

[OHdem10]

13. Go with the House Bill. If this cannot be done, the country

is better off than with a bill that helps only Insurance Industry
and Pharmaceutical Industry--not even the Doctors.

[lamp_shade]

14. K&R

[eridani]

15. This bill does NOT establish the principle that everyone deserves health care

It establishes the principle that people with money deserve health care and those without are disposable human garbage. Have you even bothered to read the piece of shit that is the Basic Plan? It's overpriced mandated underinsurance.