JournOLister Jonathan Cohn joins the bash Howard Dean and the public option party, this time pooh poohing reconciliation:

Democracy for America, Howard Dean's group, has (via TPM) launched a campaign to pass health care reform through the reconciliation process. The idea is that while there may not be 60 votes in the Senate to support a public option, there may be 50. And, in the reconciliation process, legislation can pass with just 50 votes, with no worries about rounding up the 60 it takes to break a filibuster.

. . . [R]econciliation might alienate more conservative-leaning Democrats in the Senate. . . . As a result, holding even 50 votes for reform via reconciliation might not be that easy. It could be done, for sure. But, once concessions to those centrists are made, the bill might not look that different from what the Senate would have produced through the usual procedures.

Here's a simple math lesson for the JournOListers. 60 is more than 50. Having to placate Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu is not the same as placating Bill Nelson and Jon Tester. More . .