The prospects for health reform’s passage have certainly brightened over the last few weeks. Yesterday bought a new push in the direction of reform.
A trio of Colorado Democrats — Gov. Bill Ritter, Sen. Michael Bennett, and Sen. Mark Udall — released an open letter to U.S. senators urging them to reject a filibuster and give the public option an up-or-down vote in the Senate:
Even if you oppose a public option, we urge you not to hold it hostage with the threat of the filibuster. Stand up for the people, not the insurance industry, and give the public option the up-or-down vote it deserves.
The call for an up-or-down vote on the public option is something that has been building for a while. (Our own Ed Kilgore made a similar argument in September.) The principle behind it is certainly sound: a senator can vote their conscience and against the public option, as long as they allow the plan to come up for a vote, period. By supporting this tactic, progressives could also avoid the difficulties that come with trying to pass reform through the budget reconciliation process.
Regardless of where one stands on the public option — PPI has always believed that reform was possible with or without one — the idea of letting it stand for an up-or-down vote is something everyone should agree on. Because of their reputation as pragmatic progressives (as opposed to some of the plan’s more ideological supporters), Ritter, Bennett, and Udall’s move certainly makes such a vote a likelier possibility.
