The Snow paradox

Ezra has an interesting insight.

If Snowe drops off the bill, using the budget reconciliation process will probably be a necessity. The bill then goes through Sen. Kent Conrad's Budget Committee, giving him much more power over the product. The absence of any Republicans repels at least a couple of conservative Democrats. Passage becomes much less certain, which means a scaled-back bill becomes much more likely. This is the irony of the health-care endgame: The bill becomes much more conservative if it loses its final Republican.

I think we can safely assume that President Obama's remarks to Congress next week will be heavily influenced by Sen. Olympia Snowe's views on health care. Which, as Ezra points out in another post, would not be a bad thing...if, she's also willing to buck her party and vote for a bill. The Snowe/Kennedy Health Care for All Americans Act, anyone?