A plurality should rule

Madison's Mistake
When you add the populations of Idaho, Wyoming and Utah what do you get? You get six Republican senators representing a population half the size of New York City.

The eight states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee give us another 16 Republican senators and their combined populations are less than California's.

That's a tough row to hoe for 60 votes.

What a majority wants...

...Only 33 percent of likely voters favor a health care bill that does not include a public health insurance option and does not expand Medicare, but does require all Americans to get health insurance. Slightly more Democrats -- 37 percent -- favor the idea, while only 30 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of independents do.

Meanwhile, if the public option and Medicare buy-in are added, 58 percent of people support the idea. The number of Republican supporters drops to 22 percent, but independent support rises to 57 percent and Democratic support to a whopping 88 percent.

Clearly 88% of Democrats along with 57% of independents obliterates 78% of Republicans.