Jim Webb really appears to be wrestling with this one:Like all of my colleagues in the Democratic Party, I voted in favor of proceeding to debate the proposed health-care reform legislation. I have yet to decide whether I will support final passage of the bill.Meanwhile, as Jim Webb sits on the fence, the debate is raging in the blogosphere and pretty much everywhere else over what to do now. What boggles my mind is that it has come down to this ridiculous situation, with people like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson watering down the bill more and more every time you look, after nearly a year of the current Congress working on this issue. What's particularly infuriating is that there's a majority in the Senate for strong health care reform, yet because of Senate rules, that majority is being squelched by a few members. Why Harry Reid didn't move to the process known as "reconciliation" a long time ago is beyond me, but I still believe he could do so and get good legislation passed. Anyway, that's my recommendation at this point, for what it's worth. But it should never have come to this after all the work we put in to win control of the House, Senate and White House. Sigh...
[...]
Our country needs health-care reform. While a strong percentage of Americans are satisfied with their health care, the system is not working for millions of others. Spiraling costs for health care also have placed our biggest industries at a severe competitive disadvantage worldwide, and have become unsustainable for many small businesses.
But true reform must be done in an effective and responsible fashion, without creating a cumbersome, overly bureaucratic system. The bottom line should be to achieve a more cost-effective health-care system that increases accessibility, affordability, and quality of care, and which does not burden our economy along the way.
[...]
In summary, I have been doing what I can to shape the bill, for the good of our country and without bowing to party politics. As we continue to debate the bill and amend it, I remain hopeful that the Senate can reach consensus on fair and effective health care legislation. Whether this is so will determine my vote on final passage.
UPDATE: Howard Dean says, "Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill." I tend to agree, actually. This thing has been ruined by the Republicans (who have said "no" to basically everything and have been completely unhelpful) and a few others (Joe Lieberman, Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson) who are either insurance industry shills (Lieberman, Lincoln) or social conservatives (Nelson). It sucks, but that's where we're at right now unfortunately.
