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They needed 60 to avoid a filibuster. A filibuster would've required Republicans to obstruct the vote by speaking continuously on why Americans don't deserve he
by 34679 6y ago
They needed 60 to avoid a filibuster. A filibuster would've required Republicans to obstruct the vote by speaking continuously on why Americans don't deserve healthcare. Democrats had them backed in a corner. All they had to do was propose a bill that benefited everyday Americans instead of corporate backers and they would've made the Republicans look like absolute fools for speaking endlessly against it. A filibuster only lasts as long as the opposition keeps debate open.
- bobthepanda 6y agoThe Overton window wasn't that far left in 2009. A good deal of the Obamacare messaging was focused around telling middle class Americans that no, they would not lose their existing employer-provided coverage. And even if you could pull out all the data that would show that Medicare for All benefited people more than existing coverage no one would've believed it.