It's time for lawmakers to let go of health-care legislation

By Dana Milbank
WashPost
Thursday, March 25, 2010

There's been a lot of talk about rules on Capitol Hill lately. On Wednesday, Republicans found themselves in violation of the Kenny Rogers Rule: Know when to fold 'em.

Health-care reform, love it or hate it, is now a done deal, and the finishing touches were on their way to final passage in the Senate on Wednesday night by a comfortable margin. Fanatics across the country, no doubt fired up by Republican lawmakers' overheated cries of "tyranny" and "baby killer," have begun vandalizing Democratic offices and making death threats against Democratic officeholders.

This would be a good time for sensible lawmakers to say "basta."

But basta is not in Sen. Tom Coburn's vocabulary. The Republican from Oklahoma proposed no fewer than 11 amendments on Wednesday to try to trip up the last piece of the bill. No. 1 on his list? Amendment 3556 to H.R. 4872: "No Erectile Dysfunction Drugs to Sex Offenders."

(More here.)