Legal Commentary

A Dilemma Of Their Own Making

By Big Tent Democrat

The Village Dems are now furiously trying to recast the use of reconciliation for the health bills as a normal process. See, e.g., Kevin Drum, Steve Benen and Ezra Klein. The problem for them is they spent a year pooh poohing reconciliation and the Schumer Plan when public option advocates argued for splitting the health care bills in a regular order bill and a reconciliation bill. (Notable exception - David Waldman.) There disdain for this has come back to bite them. Here's Drum:

There's nothing wrong with the media reporting that Republicans oppose the use of reconciliation to amend the healthcare bill. Of course they do. But they owe it to their audience to explain that reconciliation does nothing more than allow a simple majority vote to pass budgetary issues and that it's been used routinely by both parties for decades. That's just the simple truth.

Indeed, it was always a simple truth. But for a year, the Village Dems did not like that simple truth. Now they reap what they sowed.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 24, 2010 (boomark / email).