The ACA wasn’t “watered down in the name of bipartisanship”. The public option was removed because that’s the only way Joe Lieberman, the 60th vote in the Senate, would vote for it. And yes, what initially came out of committee was not as progressive as we wanted, but if Lieberman wasn’t even going to vote for that, there was no way he was going to vote for M4A.
The ACA wasn’t “watered down in the name of bipartisanship”. The public option was removed because that’s the only way Joe Lieberman, the 60th vote in the Senate, would vote for it. And yes, what initially came out of committee was not as progressive as we wanted, but if Lieberman wasn’t even going to vote for that, there was no way he was going to vote for M4A.
I wish he just pushed to end the filibuster.
Then, all he would’ve needed was 50 senators, he can sacrifice 10 of those 60 votes in exchange for a better healthcare system.
Obama’s legaacy should prove that “playing nice”, in fact, does not work.