Ding Dong, The Bill is Dead

Let the joyous news be spread, the wicked health care bill is finally dead.  Well, at least the Wicked Witch has declared she can't get the votes to pass the Senate version in the House unchanged.  This leaves the nuclear option of reconciliation as the only alternative to pass the bill without reaching out to Republicans for votes.  Reconciliation in this political environment would be beyond suicidal and the Democrats know it.

My, my how things have changed with the news Mr. Brown is coming to Washington:

Rank-and-file Democrats vented their frustration at a closed-door meeting Thursday. Emerging from the session, Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-N.Y., said: “The mega bills are dead. If we didn’t see what happened Tuesday night, we have blinkers on.”

 This puts health care on the back burner as Democrats have finally realized people were more concerned about jobs and the economy all along.   Imagine that!

Also fueling the Democratic search for a fresh health care strategy is a conviction by many in the party that it’s time for an election-year focus on jobs and the economy, which polls show are easily the public’s top concerns.

“I don’t think we have to wait for health care to be resolved one way or the other before we move to jobs,” said Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa. “We need to put a jobs bill on the table very soon, certainly in the next few weeks.”

This is a massive defeat, though lefty pundits will probably try and focus on the "pivot" towards jobs and the economy.  Health care was his signature legislation, the failure to pass it with huge majorities in Congress will undoubtedly get a mention in the history books.  The only option at this point is to go back to the drawing board and try to pass a very different watered down bill that can gain the support of a majority of Democrats and Republicans.  Clearly this was the path they should have pursued all along.

H/T: Hot Air  Much more at Memeorandum