The Kennedy brothers are all gone, but Democrats can fulfill
Teddy's last wish.

With Ted Kennedy's passing, the burden of fulfilling his life's work -- making sure that every American has access to decent, basic healthcare, something any civilized society should provide -- falls to the members of his party, particularly his fellow United States Senators. Assuming that Senate Republicans, even those who called Kennedy a friend, and who claim, with furrowed brows and wringing hands, that if only Teddy were there, healthcare reform would have been a done deal (something no serious person believes, given the state of the Republican Party) won't go along with any bill, no matter how watered down, here is what Democrats should do now.

1. When the recess is over on September 8th, Harry Reid should move immediately to dissolve the "gang of six." The rump committee within the Senate Finance Committee which Lawrence O'Donnell and other Hill experts claim is the only committee the "really counts" in drafting a healthcare bill, is DOA, no matter what Max Baucus says. Because the Republicans on the subcommittee are now admittedly committed only to delaying or killing any bill (or in the case of Olympia Snowe, to rendering it inert,) there is no longer any point to letting these six, who represent just 3 percent of the U.S. population, continue to waste the country's time pretending to negotiate, when there are members of the full committee who represent much more populous states, whose economies depend much more on a full healthcare solution, not weak, rural "co-ops." The Senate majority leader should be a man, can the rump committee (or request, firmly, that Baucus do so,) and redirect the issue to the full Finance Committee.

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee:

• MAX BAUCUS, MT
• JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
• KENT CONRAD, ND
• JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
• JOHN F. KERRY, MA
• BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
• RON WYDEN, OR
• CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY
• DEBBIE STABENOW, MI
• MARIA CANTWELL, WA
• BILL NELSON, FL
• ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ
• THOMAS CARPER, DE

Republicans on the committee:

• WHO CARES?

2. Strip the Finance Committee of the supposed power to write its own bill. President Obama should push Harry Reid to honor Ted Kennedy's memory by telling the Senate Finance Committee that their time is up, and that they owe it to their fallen colleague to give the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee bill -- which was crafted via Chris Dodd per Ted Kennedy's priorities -- a straight up or down vote in the Senate Finance Committee. There are 13 Democrats and just 10 Republicans on that committee, of whom Max Baucus is the most conservatives. With the appropriate amount of leadership (or pressure), from inside the Senate and from those of us who those Senators work for, the bill should pass the committee on a party-line vote, even if Baucus votes no. Bernie Sanders has championed this approach, and he's right. (Read Slate's assessment of the HELP bill here.) 

3. Send the Kennedy bill out of finance and to the full Senate. The president should call upon his friend and mentor, Dick Durbin, to find him 50 votes for the Kennedy bill. That's all Dick Durbin should be doing until that bill passes. We out here in the real world can take care of the politics, by pledging to work our asses off to vocally support (including in letters, emails, on radio and on the Internet,) and then to volunteer, fundraise, knock on doors, and otherwise put in the effort to re-elect any Democratic Senator who votes for the bill and who's up in 2010 (and to equally strongly oppose the re-election of any who don't. I think it's called democracy.)

That's it. Three simple steps -- dissolve the gang of six, tell Finance their time is up, and get a full vote on the Kennedy bill, even if it takes using reconciliation.

Will a "Kennedycare" bill make Limbaugh's day? Who bloody well cares? If he ever O.D.'s on that Oxycontin, or chokes a Fat Burger down the wrong esophageal pipe, at least he'll be guaranteed good care should Clear Channel get tired of paying his premiums.

The summer of crazy is almost over. When it is, Democrats need to stop screwing around and get on with it.

Meanwhile, re-linking this great piece on how LBJ got 'er done on Medicare.

Cross-posted at The Reid Report.