The Senate is a conservative body. It was intended to be so by the Founders. But it was also intended to reflect the will of the people when the people overwhelmingly favored a policy. We have that overwhelming support now for a public health insurance option. Sixty-five percent of us understand that private insurance companies have a near monopoly grip on the price of health care in the United States. Only Medicare and Medicaid stand between them and total control of the market. Monopoly control would mean health insurance companies could charge whatever they want since they are exempt from anti-trust laws (McCarran-Ferguson Act). These corporations are demonstrating their immense political power by threatening to raise premiums again, if the Congress has the temerity to pass an extension of government guaranteed health insurance.Senate Majority Leader Henry Reid seems like a nice man, but maybe he is too nice when it comes down to brass. There is a report from Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake.com that Reid is allowing a single Democratic senator to filibuster the public option in private without requiring him to take the floor of the chamber to express his opposition in public. As Hamsher said, Reid's inability or unwillingness to enforce party discipline is not only wrong, but immoral. The public has a right to know where senators stand on this crucial issue. The Senate rules as they are now constituted allow a senator to put a private "hold" on legislation they oppose. That rule needs to be changed immediately so Americans can know where their legislators stand on momentous national issues and vote accordingly. Without pubic accountability, the Senate is simply a club of mostly white men deciding the fate of the nation in secret. Rules are made to be broken, and now is the time to break this one. Democrats finally have a majority in the Senate, and they are are very close to a sixty vote majority--enough to end a filibuster. Even one Republican senator may vote with the Democrats for health care reform. We want senators to stand and be counted, not serve special interests in private. So Harry, tell Ben Nelson (?-NE)* to either vote with his party or take a hike to the other side of the isle.
*Why Ben Nelson? Admittedly it is an educated guess, but he fits the profile. Nelson consistently voted with Repugnants during the Regime. He represents a Midwestern conservative stronghold, and the major metro area in his constituency is politically dominated by a major insurance company, Mutual of Omaha. Its time to rip the cover off Ben Nelson.