Lincoln, Bayh Won't Support Passing Health Care Fixes Via Reconciliation

three brillant responses from semi-retro Senate Dems who love to try and feel significant when in reality they are flies on a horse's ass!

Lincoln, Bayh, Nelson Won't Support Passing Health Care Fixes Via Reconciliation

I am shocked, SHOCKED, by this news.

Sorry, I meant Bill Nelson

This handful of whores personify what is wrong with the Democratic Party. Primary all of them! Good riddance!

"We need to focus on things where we have a consensus," Bayh said." Just ramming through a bill on a purely party-line vote on a strictly partisan basis will not do much to generate the kind of progress around here on other issues that we need."

Oh, Evan Bayh, you make me regret the valuable keystrokes I waste occasionally defending you here.

This is as newsworthy as an article stating that Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is going to oppose Cap and Trade!

Nelson should be keeping his mouth shut about this given that it will play like he's trying to protect his pay-off.

Count them out? Okay. Let's count them out. For good.

Except for Lieberman, who can go hang, I could care less if the most conservative Democratic Senators voted no on the reconciliation bill. In fact, I'd be disappointed if more of them didn't, as long as we get 50 votes plus Biden. If they think they're going to influence a single voter with that kind of nuance, let 'em try.

The Civil Rights Act passed with nothing to spare. The 19th Amendment came down to one guy in one house of the Tennessee legislature. Five minutes after it passes no one will care what the margin was.

The progressive base of the Democratic party needs to become has hardlined as the conservative pawns are becoming on the right. For the past generation and a half, Democrats have ignored their base with such disregard that there is no fear of electoral repercussions. This is evidence by the behavior of the administration prior to the health care reform debates. The "public option" was never even on the table much less "single payer'. "Don't ask don't tell" could easily be repealed with an executive order. Escalating the fake "war on terror" by sending more troops to Afghanistan. Still putting wall street before main street.

The effect of all this is the glacial pace of any real change in our government. 30 years of conservative hegemony with a few years of limited reversal of that course. What is there to show for it? In the ranking of nations, other than tv's and guns per capita the US is not at the top of any list that is a positive benefit for its population;education, health, manufacturing, nothing.
Yet here we are as a nation, like a dog chasing its' tail, concerned about 'terrorism'. I said that because it is the far-right wing of this nation that is so concerned with catching and defeating the far-right wing of some foreign nation.

The shrinking middle class is happening because we the people have allowed ourselves to become part of this corporate serfdom. We watch our 24 hour news filled with advertisements to keep us drugged and buying. The 'news' is just a sideshow for the commercials. When a news anchor challenges a politician for lying it becomes "newsworthy" why? Because the norm is to allow it to happen.

Need further proof of the blurring of lines between news media, politics and commercialism? Look at not only the signing of Sarah Palin to Fox news but also how Ed Shultz was courted to run as a Democrat.

Is it really any wonder, the greatest American export of our times are blockbuster movies and video games. We sell fantasy to the world and do it well, so well, that we believe our own fantasies.

Fine. Strip them of their committee memberships, and any other perks beyond what they are strictly entitled to from their Constitutional job description, and provide no money for their re-election.

"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." -Will Rogers.

Throughout the history of the Democratic party(Progressives) in the 20th century it has fallen to you to be the enactors of real societal change. From the introduction of the 19th amendment to the creation of social security, G.I. Bill, civil rights act, voting rights act, and medicare, these are all pieces of legislation that the American citizenry living today cannot truly fathom of the time of not having them. These items reinforce the reciprocity of government and its people, creating a “more perfect union”.

Today, citizens may fight for their nation and come home knowing that they can afford to continue their education. Today, citizens after spending their entire adult working lives paying into the government system that if their retirement funds suddenly evaporate in some Wall street Ponzi scheme there will still be some form of income provided by social security. Today, because of medicare, an elderly citizen can at least get the health care they need. Today, we as a nation can finally say that opportunity is truly available to all and every citizen has the right to effectuate their government regardless of sex or race.

The time has come again for Democrats (Progressives) to be the steadying hand to the invisible hand. It is neither mere accident nor divine providence that the legislative items mentioned above; all came about after a long uninterrupted term of conservative hegemony. It is the realignment of democratic principles with economic and social realities. History has taught us that those who heed the cry “socialism” in these times of change in our nation are regarded as persons with limited foresight by the generations to come. Those that were against the voting rights of 1965 could not imagine a day like November 4th 2008.

So the time has fallen unto us to establish once and for all, a citizen’s right to health care- a human right; if it were not a human right, than man should be considered no more than a pack of rapacious narcissistic jackals motivated by the hunger for profit. Capitalism does not stipulate that government can not be an equal player in the market place. Is it not competition that drives capitalism and innovation? Citizens have more choice in shipping companies to include the United States Post Office, than they have in how to pay for health care. How is that big insurance will not be able to stay competitive if they are truly providing a better service to the people than government?

Democrats(Progessives) be moved by your conscience and ideals, not by your ego and benefactors.

Yeah! God forbid people in a democracy pass legislation by a majority vote!

Bipartisanship is a wonderful idea, but you don't try to reach a "bipartisan consensus" with somebody who has just broken into your house and taken a shit on the dinner table; it takes two to dance that particular tango. Well, if you're a normal person anyway. For Republicans, the phrase means "whatever Republicans want plus a bonus reacharound" - and apparently that definition is catching on with Blue Dogs as well.

If we had a real leader in the Senate, we might be considering what punishments they are going to get for not voting with the Democratic majority.

But we certainly wouldn't want to ruffle any feathers, its all a nice big cozy club after all.

What's that? another 2,000 people died today for lacking insurance? Bah, they were just poor people anyway.

The Go F_k urself bunch can Go F_k urselves!
Judgement days coming for you 3. Ill spend my days figuring out how to see to it that none of you have jobs after the election.

What pathetic excuses for elected officials. For shame.

Are they serious? I actually chuckled.

Note to Conservadem jackals -- Bayh, Nelson, ... and I know you're in there Lieberman:

****We never expected your vote to be among the 50.****

Reconciliation is being used specifically because you are all unreliable backstabbers.

Maybe this will help the House Dems understand that they have no choice but to pass the Senate bill without conditions. Which was also the case a month ago.

I cannot stress enough, just how important it is that these Senators don’t win re-election. The Democratic Party will never move forward if we keep electing the same old politicians that keep voting against their own party.
I am asking all the viewers of this post to help see that the following Senators are voted out of office on their next election. The way we do this, is by spreading the word through viewer comments on posts throughout the internet on news sites and blogs. Keep posting their names and date when their up for re-election. We can do this so please help. We can’t keep re-electing the same people over and over again and expect a different result.
1. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas in 2010
2. Evan Bayh of Indiana in 2010
3. Ben Nelson of Nebraska in 2012
4. Kent Conrad of North Dakota in 2012
5. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut in 2012
6. Bill Nelson of Florida in 2012
7. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana in 2014
8. Max Baucus of Montana in 2014
These Senators more than any other have consistently voted against their own party and with the Republicans on legislation going through the Senate. These Senators are the main reason Health Care Reform turned into such a bad bill no one in their right mind could support it. These Senators with the help of Republicans water down, added amendments and stretched out and stalled the Health bill in order for it to fail.

So does this make the progressives in the House more likely to vote for the senate bill and then amend during reconciliation, knowing that that these conservadem senators are out?

Adieu, Landrieu. Bye, Bayh.

What's interesting, imho, is that they're coming out with statements. Together. After a long silence.

That suggests to me that leadership may already have the votes lined up, and may be releasing people they don't absolutely need.

Admittedly, I tend to be an optimist ...

..you mean these "Democratic" obstructionists along with their buddies on the right would be irrelevant...? Too F**king Bad...! We don't need them and they will soon (not soon enough!) be gone...

Nelson's out:

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/26/nelson-not-ok-reconciliation/

I am waiting for Birch Bayh to disown his son. What an embarrassment.