Another e-mail to Obama on health care

Look, folks. Let's get it straight. Bipartisanship is not working. The Republicans have one agenda and one agenda only: to kill health care reform. They are succeeding. The President is being far too conciliatory. Anthony Weiner on Chris Matthews' show had it right yesterday. The President needs to clearly articulate exactly what the health reform plan should be, and DEMAND that Congress enact it, using the Reconciliation process if necessary. And that plan ABSOLUTELY MUST include a public option program, with real teeth and ability to negotiate costs. ALSO, the plan needs to have more ability to introduce regulation later on to move towards eliminating for-profit medical care, which gives us high costs, poor outcomes, and completely wrong-way-around incentives.

The president needs to use his very considerable ability to communicate to articulate a clear agenda, articulate exactly what it needs to contain, and why we need it, and sell, sell, sell. The hell with the Republicans. They will only obstruct.

To which I add, the hell with the most conservative of the Blue Dogs, too, because they really are Republicans. We can pass a decent health care bill in the House, and we should be able to strongarm 50 Senators into voting for it. Biden can break the tie, and the Reconciliation process can make the whole question of a filibuster irrelevant. It is absolutely time to show the Republicans the mettle of Obama's mandate, before it evaporates completely, which given the White House's strange, almost psychotic behavior lately, will happen soon if things don't change.