A friend of mine, in a demonstration of an apoplectic fit bordering on near insanity, spent his morning worrying about a process in the Senate the would only require 51 votes to pass health care reform, bypassing the minority tool to block legislation known as a filibuster. “All hope is lost!” my friend screamed, and the subsequent tirade of expletives aimed at liberals and Obama truly a treasure to experience. Ready to throw in the towel, turn of the computer, and hang up the phone, his look of desperation and despair moved me into immediate action. Fear not, my friend! Spread the word! In an effort to lock out the annoying public from harassing their elected representatives, look for the bullying tactic of threatening the reconciliation process in the Senate to be used and reported on by the mainstream media in an effort to silence your voice.

But here is a little know secret that should be passed on to everyone you know: the reconciliation option is not all it is cut out to be. Check Wikipedia for the gory details. Personally, I recommend not wasting your time, as Mort Kondrake explains why the reconciliation option is essentially off the table and why you won’t find liberal Democrats panting in anticipation as they ponder its use. From Mr. Kondrake:

Liberal health-reform advocates have talked about ramming a reform plan – including a Medicare-like public insurance option – through the Senate with only 51 Democratic votes.

But a leading Senate player says it won’t work.

If an attempt is made to pass health reform under “reconciliation” rules – requiring just a simple majority vote – Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., told me the bill would be so pared down “you’d be left with Swiss cheese.”

Conrad also serves on the Senate Finance Committee, which will mark up its version of health-care reform this month.

Reconciliation rules, he said, require that a bill be scored as deficit-reducing over six years and that any substantive policy change in it also have a fiscal purpose.

The result, said Conrad, is that “you’d be left with a dramatically reduced package” that would fall short of comprehensive health reform.

“You would have a very hard time expanding coverage to the 46 million who don’t have it,” he said, and the “Byrd Rule” – requiring fiscal germaneness – could strip the bill of many of its policy provisions.

So, Conrad said, “health reform needs to be passed on a 60-vote basis, and that means it needs to be bipartisan.”

And that, he said, all but certainly rules out including a government-run “public plan” like Medicare designed to “compete with” – or replace – private insurance companies.

Read the whole article and once empowered against the coming onslaught of threats from the liberal left about this non-option, pick up that phone, turn on that computer, open that email and give it to them good.

Keep up with Michelle on stopping the cap-and-tax bill. If you can’t find enough information in her post, you are not looking closely enough. Here are some highlights:

• The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee begins hearings Tuesday, July 7th.
• Link to Heritage research analysis.
• Pork, pork, and more pork.
• Senators to target.
• Contact information for Senator McCain, a known environut with a propensity to ignore inconvenient facts.
• More Senate analysis of cap-and-trade targets from Temple of Mut.
• A Senate cap-and-trade vote analysis from Nate Silver

Read Megan Mcardle article – Political Constraints on Programs.

More health reform news from Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air. If you recall the song “The Trees” by Rush, the Maples are unhappy in their shade, dwarfed by the giant Oaks. The song ends with the line, “..and the trees are all kept equal with hatchet, axe, and saw”.

The Democrat’s plan to fund health care reform is to tax success. Mediocrity for everyone! Of course, don’t count on any liberal actually using a brain cell or two to figure out that most rich people, defined as those making over $250,000/year are small business owners. Or maybe they do know? I mean, socialism by design is the hatchet, axe and saw of exceptionalism. Misery loves company and, let’s face it, losers are miserable. The slackers, dope smokers, and brainless video game robots want everything for free, as long as you pay for it and they don’t.

For those of you half-wits who believe this is a good idea, ask yourself this: Is your job safe? It just might be you handed that pink slip by those evil profiteers. Good luck out there if you voted for Obama because chances are you are working for the man and may not be gainfully employed much longer. Nutjobs.