At a time like this, you have to wish the Democrats were more like the Republicans.

In one specific way, that is - the Republican Party term limits its committee chairs in Congress, whereas Democrats award chairmanships based on seniority. No wonder that Democrats are stuck with Senator Max Baucus to chair the pivotal Finance Committee. Baucus has been in the Senate since 1978, representing a great state, but one with a tiny share of the U.S. population. Not surprisingly, the drug and insurance industries are huge contributors.

Sen. Baucus, as you probably know, has used his chairmanship to put the brakes on health care reform in the Senate, and may ultimately succeed in killing a public health care option almost singlehandedly.

There's no excuse for Sen. Baucus to wield this kind of power. Luckily, there's a way to fight back.

According to The Hill, some members of the Democratic caucus are discussing putting chairmanships to a secret ballot vote every two years - that is to say, every two years, all the Democrats of the Senate would get to vote on whether committee chairs get to keep their seats.

Sign this petition today to tell the senators of the Democratic Caucus: It's time to institute some accountability for the Senate's committee chairs -- no senator should be able to hold health care hostage.