Senate Agrees To Debate Health Care Bill

Collins AND Snowe.....Nays to even allowing the bill to be debated......the wing nuts are in full cry and woe betide any party member who tries to oppose them. This is going to be one of the epic battles of this century from start to finish and the volume of lies and threats is just getting started.

This is a daunting task. Basically, we dn't have 60 Democratic votes, we have about 50 and change, plus 5-7 conservatives/crooks caucusing withe the Dems. The media narrative about the Dem's "big majority" is total hokkum.

I just hope progressives will be a little sympathetic. With assholes like Lieberman and Lincoln and Bayh and Conrad, Reid is doing the best he can. I just hope they don't water down the legislation too much before the cloture vote. The final vote (only 50 needed will be easy by comparison).

One final note, I wonder if the vote to open debate, which already makes you vulnerable to attack for "supporting" HCR, at least according to GOP talking points, will make this 60 a little more solid. After all, just this vote alone is kind of a committment for HCR. You will be attacked for it no matter what happens now.

p.s. Olympia Snowe is a cowardly shithead. I hope she gets the boot up in ME. What a fake "moderate".

PO seems to have no chance in hell to pass with a majority conservative Senate.

Also, Obama I'm sure, if not naive was optimistic, to think he can find some moderation and bipartisanship from Republicans. Snowe, after some much WH ass-kissing, has bitch slapped them.
Republicans are almost as dangerous in opposition, if not more.

If Baucus in the finance committee and the WH had ignored Snowe from the beginning, we may have already passed a bill by now, and may be with a little less commotion.

So Snowe voted against even debating the bill. RIP "moderate" Republicans.

I find it.......I don't know if I should say incredible, shocking, disheartening, or complete bullshit that 3-4 Senators can LITERALLY dictate to a 55 vote MAJORITY of Senators. I find that absolutely amazing.

Now we have to wait and see the outcome of the actual vote!

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I think the next move, message wise, should be this. The Republican enablers voted for the deficit increasing tax cuts for wealthy investors and voted against saving tens of thousands of American lives. Nine of the ten unhealthiest states are Red, including Landrieu's.

Another interesting fact:

States Receiving Most in Federal Spending Per Dollar of Federal Taxes Paid:

1. D.C. ($6.17)
2. North Dakota ($2.03) R
3. New Mexico ($1.89)
4. Mississippi ($1.84) R
5. Alaska ($1.82) R
6. West Virginia ($1.74) R
7. Montana ($1.64) R
8. Alabama ($1.61) R
9. South Dakota ($1.59) R
10. Arkansas ($1.53) R

States Receiving Least in Federal Spending Per Dollar of Federal Taxes Paid:

1. New Jersey ($0.62) D
2. Connecticut ($0.64) D
3. New Hampshire ($0.68)
4. Nevada ($0.73)
5. Illinois ($0.77) D
6. Minnesota ($0.77) D
7. Colorado ($0.79)
8. Massachusetts ($0.79) D
9. California ($0.81) D
10. New York ($0.81) D

Red states are Welfare states. Look who's spreading the wealth. Maybe they need to pass a law saying that you only receive the amount in federal funds that you pay in.

So how will the Senate deal with making sure Wall Street retains their profit margins?

That should be the headline.

I am still invested in health care companies. You would be foolish not too, because they are cheap right now.

A great win for Industry, Corporatism and Conservatism. And all their followers rejoice!!

From Juan Cole's Sunday post re: Debate on the Veto of Iraq's new electoral law:

MP Safiya Suhail urged that al-Hashemi's veto be overturned by an up and down vote, and complained that interminable delays in parliament are produced by some blocs' desire always to reach consensus.

Perhaps Voinovich didn't want to sully himself with this pathetic Republican farce. He is retiring; maybe he'll go rogue on the Republicans on a final vote.

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