Interesting article, Diane, thanks for referring m...

2010-02-10T09:39:07.681-08:00

Interesting article, Diane, thanks for referring me to it. But I actually think that what is going on in Congress is a lot simpler than the prisoners' or date night dilemmas. Given what happened in Massachusetts, a lot of Senators and Representatives are just plain afraid that if they vote for health care reform, they might lose their seats in November. So the only way to get it passed is to shift public opinion somewhat so that enough members will see more reward and less risk in voting for the bill. After all, if every single one of the 60 Democratic Senators, from Bernie Sanders to Ben Nelson, voted for the Senate version of the bill, it can't be that bad, and a majority of the House should be expected to go along, perhaps with some modifications that they can later get through the Senate. But the political calculus has changed due to fears of retribution by independent voters. So this health care summit is a way of trying to influence public opinion, so as to reassure Democrats that they might survive politically if they vote for this bill, as much as it is an effort to smoke out the Republicans.

And I actually have 3 blogs, which must make me some kind of a super-geek. I have a law firm blog at jcmarkowitz.com, which I started five years ago, but did not use very much until after I got addicted to blogging during the Obama campaign. So now I have a political blog and a mediation blog as well. Thanks for following.

Joe, interesting post. (And am also delighted to b...

2010-02-10T06:07:23.148-08:00

Joe, interesting post. (And am also delighted to be introduced to your political blog - I didn't know that you manage to contribute to not just one but two blogs.)

Given the focus of this post, I thought you might be interested in an essay on Slate.com that offers a game theory analysis of the health care debate in Congress: http://www.slate.com/id/2244161/.

Comments on Mediation's Place: Managing Conflict

Interesting article, Diane, thanks for referring m...

Joe, interesting post. (And am also delighted to b...