Health Care Push.

President Obama refused to be chastened by the recent election of Scott Brown of Massachusetts to the U.S. Senate. On Monday, he revealed his proposal to push his health care plan through the Senate by using the procedure of reconciliation. The maneuver would allow a simple majority vote that would undermine any filibuster by the GOP. Dan Pfeiffer, Obama's information director stated that "the American people deserve an up or down vote on health care reform." GOP senator Olympia Snowe of Maine said using the procedure would be a "big mistake." The reason for the urgency on the part of Obama is that, according to administration officials, reconciliation is "the last, best hope for comprehensive health care reform."

This is most likely true. If the election of Scott Brown is any indication of the sentiment of the American public, the Democrats are facing significant losses in the upcoming elections. Reconciliation could very well be the "last best hope" to get the bill passed before anyone, including the public, can do anything about it. Waiting seven months for the next election to see what the public really thinks about health care reform would not be the end of civilization as we know it. But waiting seven months very well could be the end of Obama's health care plan. There is little indication that the public is clamoring for a quick passage of health care reform. The parliamentary maneuver of reconciliation would reflect the administration's urgency to get health care reform enacted, not the public's.