No Bipartisan Consensus? Time To Use The Majority!

The last 48 hours have served as a clarifying moment in the health care debate.

First, the White House sent out trial balloons this weekend on abandoning the public option. Progressives were not amused and organized intensely for the first time this summer. Finally the left is matching the intensity of the right – and it took a perceived betrayal by the White House to do it.

Second, just as progressive Democrats fixed their bayonets, the Republican leadership made it abundantly clear that they had no intention of supporting co-ops or anything else coming out of the Senate Finance Committee. The GOP, whether for ideological or political reasons – or both – decided to play the 1994 Bill Kristol card and refuse to participate any longer.

And now the White House is taking notice: there is no more bipartisan basis for negotiation. The GOP, which itself only counts 39 Senators (without Martinez) has left the negotiating table. Without Republicans, the nature of negotiations AMONG Democrats will change dramatically. The debate will shift somewhat to the left as the rightward ballast has disappeared.

President Obama campaigned to a large extent on the idea of consensus politics. He believed that there was broad agreement across the political spectrum on a variety of issues, including health care. Though support for Obama’s handling of the health care issue has suffered this summer, the public at large – and Independents in particular – still credit Obama for at least trying to work with Republicans. Same was true for the stimulus.

But the reality of Washington is that the GOP has been reduced to its ideological core. There are very few moderates left in the party. The issues surrounding health care have shown themselves to be laden with all sorts of ideological baggage, and the Republican Party has only played up those ideological consequences (as is their right).

And so it’s time to turn to the only poll that matters: November 2008. In that election the electorate not only gave Obama a solid majority – the largest for a Democrat since 1964 – but also elected 59 Democratic Senators…and one more switched to the Dems. The House Democratic caucus also moved significantly to the left.

Elections have consequences. There is nothing immoderate in suggesting that the majority – even the supermajority of 60-39 – has the right to rule in Congress. As a matter of style and principle President Obama sought bipartisan consensus. It was also a matter of good politics as the public likes the idea of cooperation across party lines. Some insecure Democrats also liked the idea that if the public revolted against the plan they would have bipartisan cover.

But that’s not how things are shaking out. Health care will be decided by the Democratic majority elected largely for that very purpose. And that is as it should be.

President Obama will likely be working with the conservative Democrats in the Senate – Baucus, Conrad, Bayh, Landrieu, Nelson and Lincoln. Once he reminds these Senators that there will be no bipartisan cover, he should make this request: oppose the public option if your conscience or your constituents demand. But do NOT support a GOP filibuster of it. Considering that Republicans have abandoned the table, it should become obvious to these right-leaning Democrats that NO deal with the GOP is possible and that a vote for a filibuster (against cloture) would be a vote against any and all health care reform. Period.

There are some issues in politics where bipartisan consensus simply does not exist. This August has only driven that point home. It’s time for Democrats to use the majority that the American people put in place last November.