218 (temporarily 217.) It's an important number in Washington, D.C. Apparently the Villagers do not understand it. Take Jon Chait, please:

The Senate doesn't need 60 votes again to pass health care reform. It just needs 50. The excuse that reconciliation is nasty and controversial is just incredibly lame. At the same time, the real decision-maker here is the House of Representatives. We could have comprehensive reform enacted next week if the House just passes the Senate bill. The House's reluctance to pass the bill first and then patch it through reconciliation is one of the major obstacles here. [. . . T]he House is where the action is at.

(Emphasis supplied.) Actually, the House is where there is not a snowball's chance in hell of passing the Senate Stand Alone bill. That number, 217, stands in the way. There needs to be a reconciliation fix in place for the House to pass the Senate Stand Alone bill. Holding your breath until you turn blue is not a strategy that will work for the Villagers. They need to get their Senate buddies in line. Or there will be no Senate health bill. They may be surprised to discover how few people will mourn its death.

Speaking for me only