According to this article in The Hill, Dick Durbin is thinking that the entire caucus needs to come to grips with the idea of voting down any amendments to the HCR reconciliation fix, even the Public Option. And here is Tom Carper — working on his centrist cred, no doubt — egging this on:
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a leading centrist, suggested Democrats should be able to avoid blowing up a reconciliation package if there is ample negotiation on it before it hits the floor. But Carper appeared to warn his Democratic colleagues that any move to amend the reconciliation bill, however noble the policy aims, would only lead to chaos.
“If we have an agreement with the administration and the leadership of Senate Democrats and House Democrats on what should be in the reconciliation package, I’m sure I could think of plenty of ways to change it, and I’m sure every one of my colleagues could as well,” Carper said. “But that’s a slippery slope I don’t think we want to get on.”
Carper said this week he would likely vote against the public option if it was offered to a reconciliation bill.
“For those who somehow suggest this is going to happen now, they’re just deluding people,” Carper said.
It is a pity that Durbin would get to this point — within 9 or so votes and then announce a strategy to oppose all amendments. Even more of a pity for Tom Carper to trot out his effort to make some Guinness world record of representing more special interests than the number of people who actually voted for him.
What is especially galling here is that repubs will be offering plenty of amendments to try to further weaken and to kill the legislation, and you know that Carper will find at least ONE of these repub-sponsored amendments to vote for. Just so he can keep polishing up his centrist cred at the expense of Delawareans who voted for him.
(h/t to the GOS for the article)