Here's a refreshingly simple idea:

"There are 52 solid Democrats for the public option," said Senator Tom Harkin, the Iowa Democrat who is chairman of the health committee. "Only about five Democrats oppose it. Should the 52 give in to the five? Or should the five go along with the vast majority of the Democratic caucus?"

But if they do that, their egos go unflattered and without stroking. If Ben Nelson or Joe Lieberman give in now, Olympia Snowe is going to get all the attention. Absolutely, majority should rule. Every Democratic and Connecticut for Lieberman member should be willing to take this one for the team and agree that they will not be a part of the filibuster that will kill reform. Because, as David W. has pointed out, a "Republican" filibuster is only happening if a Dem defects. (Someone should remind Harry Reid of that, too, as he's still pushing the Republican filibuster myth in this NYT, "Mr. Reid, similarly, said that he was focused on devising a bill that could win the 60 votes needed to overcome a likely Republican filibuster and could not yet turn to any task beyond that.")

Of course, those 52 Dems could take a lesson from House Progressives, who recognized early on that they could make good use of Republican obstructionism and leverage it to make reform stronger with the credible threat of voting no with the Republicans if the bill isn't good enough. The fight doesn't have to be over cloture. They can be good team members on that one, and have their up or down vote on reform, and pledge to vote a bad bill down.

It's a high stakes game, and even higher in the Senate than in the House, but it would only take a dozen Senators to do it. If there's any issues that's worth extraordinary measure, and worth doing right, it's this one.