Republicans Demanded-- and Got-- an Up or Down Vote
In 2005, Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi coined the term "Nuclear Option" for the threat of Republican Senators to abolish the practice of filibuster in the Senate. The Republicans were angry that Democrats were filibustering the appointment of extremists to judicial position in the federal courts. They demanded that these nominees get an "up or down vote".The so-called "Gang of 14" was a group of 7 Democratic Senators and 7 Republican Senators who agreed to allow the votes on these extremists without threatening the procedure of filibuster. As a result, both of the controversial judges were confirmed.
The "Gang of 14" included included Republicans John McCain, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Warner of Virginia, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike DeWine of Ohio, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island; and Democrats Nelson, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and Ken Salazar of Colorado.
Of that group, several of them, including Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman have vowed to filibuster the bill. Other members of the group have not commited to giving the healthcare bill an "up or down vote".
As we have learned from the past decade, in Washington language, "bipartisanship" means the Republicans get whatever they want. When the Democrats move into power, the Republicans shift to "obstruct everything" mode. The Senate is currently breaking historical records on the use of the filibuster.
Healthcare reform is too important to fail. Public health insurance, (Medicare for All) is popular with a great majority of the American people. The remaining members of the Gang of 14 have largely abandoned bipartisanship. The constitution only requires a majority vote.
The Republicans can't lead, and they won't follow. So they have to get out of the way.
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