It’s John Kerry’s turn. The state’s soon-to-be-senior senator will follow scores of congressional colleagues who have waded into the uncertain waters of a town meeting that is likely to focus on the health care proposals being debated in Washington. Tonight’s forum in liberal-leaning Somerville might draw fewer voices from the far fringe than other such sessions held by members of Congress across the country. But as Barney Frank found out last month in Dartmouth, there is no telling what sort of insanity might be propounded when the setting includes an open mike, an elected official, and a complicated and emotionally charged public policy debate.

One thing to watch for tonight will be Kerry’s take on the possibility of Democrats resorting to the so-called “nuclear option” to push through a health care bill. Unlike in the House, where a simple majority carries the day, the threat of a filibuster means that it takes 60 votes for most major bills to go through the Senate. Republican support for a health care bill seems to be slipping, and with last week’s death of Ted Kennedy, Senate Democrats are down to 59 votes, with some moderate Democrats also said to be wavering if there is not at least some GOP support for a bill. A procedural move to get around the 60-vote requirement — “reconciliation,” which would require only a simple majority vote — is now being considered by Democrats. Though it’s hard to see why majority rule should be controversial, because the tactic is so rarely used, it is considered a politically risky move. 

But the high-stakes health care debate may be getting to a point for President Obama where there is no avoiding risk. New York Times columnist David Brooks argued yesterday that any call by Obama for Democrats to avail themselves of the reconciliation tactic would be “suicidal,” given how divided the country seems to be on the health care proposal. But simply folding his hand on health care reform — a decade and a half after Bill Clinton did the same — would carry its own hazards.

“I think the Democrats are willing to risk it,” Rutgers political scientist Ross Baker told the Globe, referring to the reconciliation option. “The stakes are just too high. The idea of ending the 111th Congress without any result on health care at all is unthinkable for the Democrats.”