NYT editorial: The First Showdown on Health Care

Republican senators are hyperventilating over the possibility that Democrats might try to pass health care reform with only a majority vote — depriving them of the chance to try to block legislation with filibusters that can only be overcome with the votes of at least three-fifths of all senators.

How quickly they forget. When the Republicans controlled Congress they used the same expedited procedure to ram through controversial measures, including the enormous tax cuts for the wealthy that plunged the federal budget deep into deficit.

There are reasons to be wary about resorting to the expedited process, known as budget reconciliation. But it is a weapon that the Democrats would be foolish to give up without evidence that Republicans will truly cooperate in fashioning meaningful reform. Not one Republican in the House or the Senate voted for the budget resolutions, and only three supported the stimulus bill.

Other than dealing with the economic crisis, health care reform is the most essential item on the Congressional agenda. It is imperative to lower the cost of health care, improve its quality, and cover tens of millions of uninsured Americans.

(More here.)