Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) continues to be a scold to the liberals in his party. Before a crowd of over 200 gathered at a senior center in Nebraska, Nelson said health care reform ought to pass with 65 votes–a feat which would require at least five Republicans to break with their party.
“I think anything less than that would challenge its legitimacy,” he said.
Nelson didn’t go so far as to say that he’d oppose a bill that had less than 64 other votes. But he did say he disagreed with the party’s legislative approach to the issue.
“We need to get started by controlling costs and need more time to figure out how to pay for extended coverage,” he told the Lincoln Journal Star. “Public debate can occur in the context of an election.”
In fairness to Nelson, President Obama did not run on a platform that included an individual mandate–so it could plausibly be argued that the public hasn’t officially weighed in on the question of universal health care. But he did run on a public option…
