We have a duty to ensure that patients don't have to worry whether they'll be dropped from their coverage if they get sick. Small business owners shouldn't have to break the bank to provide coverage to their employees. And families should not be forced into bankruptcy because of a medical crisis.

When you use the word 'filibuster,' most of us in America - and I count myself among them - envision it as the ability to hold the floor on rare occasions to speak at length and make your point emphatically and even delay progress by taking hours.

There are two ways of looking at the talking filibuster. My way is as a form of unanimous consent.

My way of viewing the talking filibuster was as a way of doing unanimous consent with your feet. You object by going down and talking.

I grew up in Southern Oregon. My father was a sawmill worker and a logger, and his job put food on the table.

We can have the best health insurance options in the world, and people still won't get needed care if we don't increase our supply of primary care physicians and nurses.