Greg Sargent's Plumline: Sherrod Brown to hand-wringers: Chill out. The Senate will get it done.

[flpoljunkie]

Sherrod Brown to hand-wringers: Chill out. The Senate will get it done.

Senator Brown, one of the Senate’s most vocal proponents of an ambitious health care overhaul, just offered a hearty vote of confidence in Harry Reid’s approach to the health care negotiations, saying Reid’s apparent slowing-down of reform is not a “cause for alarm.”

Brown, whose voice carries some weight with liberals, said he doesn’t have any doubt that Reid will complete comprehensive and ambitious reform.

“He’s simply taking a break from this,” Brown said in an interview with me moments ago. “He fully intends to move forward.”

The House has signaled it’s prepared to pass the Senate bill if it can get a guarantee that the Senate will pass a reconciliation fix. But Reid has been conspicuously silent on whether he thinks this route is workable, saying there’s no “rush” to get reform done.

“I don’t think it’s a cause for alarm,” Brown said, when asked what we should make of Reid’s actions. “I don’t see it as a delay. It’s a question of letting things settle, shifting to talking about jobs, and then doing this when there’s an opening.”

Brown said didn’t yet know for sure whether Reid would commit to the reconciliation fix approach, but added that there’s a widespread sense in the caucus that this is probably the only workable route forward.

“I can’t imagine another scenario,” Brown said. “We can’t start anew, and we can’t do piecemeal.”

Another data point suggesting that the prospects for getting this thing done may — may — be looking up.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/sherrod-brown-chill-out-senate-will-get-reform-done/

[AlinPA]

1. It has to be done before the election. We will lose at least 7 seats in Nov.

[yourout]

3. If they push through the Senate bill without reconciling a public option 7 seats would ....

be considered a win for the Dems.

Push through the Senate Bill with the mandate and the "cadillac" tax without a serious public option we will lose 1/2 the open Senate seats and the House will be gone.

[AlinPA]

5. We will lose a lot more in November when those billions start rolling in for the

republicans, post SCOTUS ruling. That mandate idea is a loser for us.

[JoePhilly]

6. Do nothing and we lose just as many ... see 1993.

If we do nothing, the GOP will simply claim that the Dems tried to pass this and failed.

If we can get the foundation down now, we can at least use the positive aspects to fight in 2010. And we can hang the short-comings on the GOP who've obstructed. And claim that we plan to FIGHT to get more.

If we pass nothing ... we are clearly IMPOTENT. We have a 59-41 majority and we are SO WEAK, we can't pass anything.

THAT ALONE is a reason for the voters to kick out the DEMS.

[yourout]

7. I disagree.....much different circumstances this time. People are more pissed because of what they..

are trying to ram down our throat.

Dems are expected to be IMPOTENT.....the are not expected to pass Republicanesqe bills.

[JoePhilly]

8. You are projecting ...

"People" on both sides are screaming.

Many of the screaming people think you are WRONG and that this bill is too liberal.

I disagree with them ... but together ... YOU ... and THEY ... are now working together to ensure that nothing happens. And if nothing happens .... the LEFT will be blamed ... and the right will claim VICTORY.

And the LEFT will, once again, get NOTHING ... not even a framework on which to build.

It's what we do ... and we don't learn.

[yourout]

9. Every person I know hates the Senate Bill because of the Mandate and the tax.

Every single person I talk to here in liberal Wisconsin despises it.

[eridani]

10. If the Senate bill passes, we'll lose a lot more than that n/t

[Jennicut]

2. Why can't we have someone like Brown in the leadership of the Senate?

I know, he has not been there long enough and all that...

[AlinPA]

4. We need a leader like him.

[Clio the Leo]

11. Ok, but only because you say so Sherrod.....

.... that is reassuring. (I'm serious.)

[Armstead]

13. Sherrod's one of the good ones -- I wish he'd had more clout throughout the process

[ellie]

12. Hey! He's my senator

He pissed me off with his Bernake vote though.