Senate GOP sends around step-by-step guide to ensuring the death of 45,000 Americans next year

The U.S. Senate is a serious place, where serious people tackle serious issues in a serious way.

No, seriously.

Consider the most important issue of our time, health insurance reform. Whether you support expanding health insurance to every American, or you support the rights of health insurance companies to take billions while they deny coverage to millions, one thing we can all agree on: lets at least have a debate, a serious debate, where both sides can offer ideas and solutions.

Unfortunately, Republicans in the Senate simply dont want a debate on health insurance reform of any kind. How do I know? Exhibit A: a letter from Senator Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) to all the Republican Senators detailing every possible procedural mechanism that could be used to delay, block or otherwise obstruct any debate at all on health insurance reform. Gregg goes out of his way to remind his Republican colleagues they can offer amendments to the bill at any time that have nothing what-so-ever to do with health care, or that any Senator, at any time, can make a point of order if he or she believes a Senate rule is being violated”with or without cause.

Which really is pathetic. Once again, conservatives prove they have zero ideas, zero principles and zero solutions for dealing with the serious issues facing our nation.