All I know about democracy in America is that majority doesn't rule: it's who's got what over whom.
So it is with health care reform, an allegedly important issue that the Senate and House are tackling to smooth over differences, placate nervous congressmen and rally backers into voting for final passage so a bill can be sent to President Obama.
But it's also an interesting thing that for months and months, our Media Glitterati keeps telling us that our elected piggies need to have 60 votes in order to pass anything. With just about every obstructionist Republican politician wallowing in their hatred for their the country at large—that claims by popular measure to support both health care reform and even a public option—, it's up to allegedly "centrists" and "moderates" to bring into the fold.
I believe the magic 60 number is to prevent a filibuster that Republicans are only to happy to use in order to kill or stall the reform debate. It's a cheap tactic that's been used for decades and both parties claim to hate it, except when they can use it.
So instead of taking the plunge and getting at least 51 votes, the entire prospect of a watered-down reform effort is in the hands of a few assholes, like Joe Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, who is relishing his role to roll back the current form of the bill so that it's diluted even more. Considering this is what the people of his state sent him to Washington D.C. to do, I guess the blame ultimately lies with them, but I just marvel at how a gang of 4, 10, 15 people or whatever can hog tie this bill in the face of widespread public support. (Support that is actually waning as fickle, dumb Americans fall for Republican lies, but that's another story.)
Next time you tell your kids that majority rules, stop yourself in mid-sentence and admit the truth: majority does not rule. It's all about the concessions and power of one vote to thwart the majority to do what you want. If we're more honest with our kids, they won't grow up believing the ever fresh, steaming pile of bullshit that comes from our elected piggies as "fair" and "democratic." And for added measure, always qualify the phrase "this is a democracy" with "this is a representational oligarchy with a democratic face," because the will of a few will always triumph over the will of many.