America wins. And I'm smiling.

I think the Democrats are wising up. They're gonna find a way to adopt significant health care reform without a single Republican vote. Two different bills have been adopted. One by the Senate. The other by the House of Reresentatives. Normally, the two different bills are reconciled in committee. With give and take on both sides. But the Senate now has one additional Republican and one less Democrat since the bills passed. And so Republicans could block a revised bill with a filibuster. But the strategy by House Democrats will be to approve the Senate bill in its entirety. So there's no need to work out a deal. The bill will then automatically go to Obama, to sign, and it becomes law. Of course, that bill will still be short of what liberal Democrats in the House want. But Democrats can pass separate bills under a process known as budget reconciliation, which require only a simple majority to pass, instead of the super majority under Senate rules. So when push comes to shove, the Democrats will get rather sweeping legislation on health care. To the chagrin of Republicans who once thought they could be obstinate and block everything with a filibuster. Yes, it's looking more and more like the Democrats have outmaneuvered the obstructionist Republicans. Yes, there are many twists and turns in the game of politics. We won't know the results of this one for sure for a few days yet. But I'm inclined to believe that the Democrats are winning and the Republicans are losing. That means America wins. And I'm smiling. --Jim Broede

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