Republican senators aren't filibustering, formally, just yet. But you can feel it in the air. Budget Committee member Judd Gregg (NH), in a published letter to his GOP colleagues, has instructed that the party must, "use the tools we have under Senate rules to insist on a full, complete and fully informed debate on the health care legislation...." Gregg notes that the Republican senators much be prepared to claim "certain rights before measures are considered on the floor as well as certain rights during the actual consideration of measures." One wonders what exactly "certain rights" means.
The Democratic response? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid noted that rather than offering their own comprehensive plan, "the first and only plan Senate Republicans bothered to draft is an instruction manual on how to bring the Senate to a screeching halt."
As the Senate considers amendments, the critical question is whether the process can serve to strengthen the bill... or merely delay it.
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