Sen. Gillibrand and fellow Democrats renew fight for public option

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is one of four U.S. Senators who earlier this week presented a letter to Senate majority leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), arguing for Democrats to use their majority to pass a public option through budget reconciliation.

In addition to Gillibrand, the other three Senators initially signing the letter were Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - all virtual newcomers in the Senate. Since then, a number of other Senators have jumped on board, including Al Franken (D-MN), Pat Leahy (D-VT), John Kerry (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

The process of reconciliation only requires 51 votes for passage and is a process that can not be filibustered. George W. Bush and Republicans used reconciliation three separate times to pass tax cuts for the rich during the previous administration. Republicans also attempted to use reconciliation to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling but failed. President Clinton attempted to use reconciliation to pass his health care bill in 1993, but Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) argued that reconciliation was out-of-bounds for a process that is mainly about budgets. However, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has stated that reconciliation could be used to pass a public option.

Passing a public option through reconciliation should have been an option from the beginning, but Democrats have proven time and time again that they're not willing to use the process to get past the filibuster rule, which in many ways has stopped Congress from moving this country forward. However, Gillibrand's decision to support such a plan pushes her farther to the left, which should help her with liberal Democrats in the upcoming primary and election - in the past many Democrats have viewed her as too close to the center for a state with many left-leaning Democrats.

Gillibrand is expected to be challenged by Democrat Harold Ford Jr., a former congressman from Tennessee who now resides in New York, in an upcoming primary. Both have attacked each other on a number of issues in recent weeks, but with Gillibrand leaning farther to the left than the centrist Ford, she is looking more and more like the right pick for New York Democrats in the upcoming primary.