Free Republic

The Senate is on course for a final vote on health care reform legislation Christmas day -- either gift-wrapping passage of President Obama's top domestic agenda item or sending him the legislative equivalent of a lump of coal. Getting to that point, however, will be no holiday. Numerous Senate aides tell Fox News that the expected schedule through next week includes votes on a defense spending bill and an increase in the federal debt limit, some late-night sessions, the introduction of amendments that could take hours to be read aloud and three potentially decisive procedural votes requiring large majorities. If...

The White House -- as we wrote yesterday -- is dead set on passing the health care bill and will stop at nothing politically to get it done. But, new data in the NBC/WSJ poll suggests that simply passing a bill -- whatever is in it -- won't solve Democrats' political problems on health care. Two data points stand out: * Just 32 percent of of the sample said that President Obama's plan is a good idea while 47 percent said is a bad idea. Public opinion on that question had eroded even since October when 38 percent thought passing...