GOOD ADVICE, BUT WILL THEY TAKE IT? – AT 6:30 P.M. ET:  The Republicans are giving the Dems some good advice on health care, but will the Dems see the light, or only the left (pun intended)?  From the Washington Post:

As senior Democrats struggled to rescue their health-care legislation, Republicans urged President Obama and congressional leaders to give up on the unpopular bill and launch bipartisan talks on a new consensus approach.

Ever since Senate Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority with the Massachusetts special election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) have explored using special budget rules to fix the Senate version of the bill before passing it through the House.

It's a highly unusual and risky manuever, albeit the most direct route to Obama's desk, and Pelosi and Reid already have run into numerous internal problems as they search for Democratic votes. Liberals want to strip out the primary source of funding in the Senate bill -- an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans -- and are pressing to add a public insurance option. Yet Democratic moderates are reluctant to take another partisan vote on health care, whatever the bill's contents.

COMMENT:  The Republican approach is correct and creative.  Start from scratch.  Take on four or five changes that will bring real reform to the health-care system.  One of those changes should be tort reform. 

The Republicans are giving the Dems a way out, and certainly know that the Dems will take any credit for what results.  The Republicans are acting like statesmen.  The Democrats?  We'll see in the next few weeks.  Don't hold your breath.

January 31,  2010