Substance Over Symbolism

by: Mike Lux

Mon Nov 23, 2009 at 10:53

Harry Reid deserves the lion's share of the credit on getting this step completed. Say what you will about the messiness of the process, the ridiculous Senate rules, the deal-cutting at the end, but Harry Reid figured out how to make it work and get over one more hurdle. One of my very favorite sayings in the world, which comes from my dear friend Paul Tully (who were he alive today be involved in all this every step of the way, and loving every minute of it) is that you can't take the politics out of politics. It's especially true on a crazy quilt, complicated issue like health care.

Given the stubborn logjam between progressives and conservatives on the public option and other issues, I can see about half a dozen different scenarios for what happens next: