Posted on 09/16/2009 1:47:26 PM PDT by KatyLoraleyVidales
Oh, dear reader, where do we begin? A few days ago, I reported that one of Maine's GOP Senators, Olympia Snowe, had advised the president that there would be "no way" a healthcare overhaul that included any form of government run healthcare would pass the Senate. I continue to doubt her loyalty to the party, which I believe to be demonstrably shaky at best, but it seems she's just not all that willing to risk her career to serve her White House masters. Yesterday she announcecd she would not support the bill coming out of the Finance Committee, otherwise known as the "Baucus Compromise". That means not a single Republican is supporting the so-called "compromise" which leaves one wondering what sort of compomise garners support from precisely zero from within the opposition's ranks. Trust, if even Olympia Snowe won't fall for it, it must be a whopper of a bill. And the Democrats panic proves, as Ed Morrissey notes, that the Democrats must not have the other 59 votes they need to pass the bill. That's because some Democrat senators do not like it, either. This means that the Democrats will have to try reconciliation to get the bill through the Senate. Snowe’s rejection, however, hides another unpleasant fact that would have been apparent, which is that Democrats don’t have all of the other 59 votes needed, either. Other Democrats have already expressed unhappiness with individual mandates, IRS involvement, and the costs. One of those Democrats is John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), who also announced yesterday he, too, will oppose the bill. Echoing the sentiments of Senator Snowe, Rockefeller said, "The way it is now, there's no way I can vote for the Senate
(Excerpt) Read more at russhargraves.blogspot.com ...
As stated in the other post this things is DOA.
Face it, Max. You’re trying to put a patch on a Marxist takeover and the People have seen it for what it is.
Perhaps the Bacchus Debacle was meant to fall apart, so the Democrats can say “we tried to get bipartisan support, but the Republicans wouldn’t play ball, so we’re going to push through an ultra-left wing Government takeover through reconciliation, instead.”
FUBAR.......we likes FUBAR for our DC pols to neutralize them!
I’m sure Lieberman won’t support it and I don’t Ben Nelson will either. At this rate The Won will be lucky to get the 50 votes needed for the nuclear option!
If the Dims’ are a vote or two short of 60, they may go Nuclear. I don’t think the Senate, with a bare majority or 53 or 54 would destroy the institution for a politically dangerous, unpopular, and poorly-crafted bill.
Let’s keep our powder dry and watch this closely, but the number of Democrat Senators who are objecting already makes it doubtful that Reconciliation is more than an idle threat.
Right.
It is unlikely the Democrats will get Liebermann, Ben Nelson, Wyden, or either Senator from West Virginia.
Plus, here is a list of vulnerable Democrats, (or Democrats who will be vulnerable if they vote for it) up for election who may likely vote against it:
Michael Bennet, CO
Chris Dodd, CT
Blanche Lincoln, AR
Barbara Boxer, CA
Evan Bayh, IN
Byron Dorgan, ND
Patty Murry, WA
Harry Reid and snArlen Spectre are both toast no matter what, and should be expected to go down with the ship. Spectre in particular has to first worry about proving his Democrat street cred before even thinking about the general election, so he’s going to break Hard Left on a Hail Mary.
Good assessment. My bigger fear now isn’t a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, but rather the potential use of reconciliation. The Republicans did it to pass Bush’s tax cuts and the real power brokers for the Rats (like Schumer) have been talking about using reconciliation to pass a more liberal health care bill including a public option.
Right, but there are enough Democrats who fear their reelection chances enough that I doubt they could get 51 votes for a new 13% healthcare tax. 0bamaScare and Cap’n Tax aren’t ever going to become law.
Plus, reconciliation would strip the bill of anything meaningful anyways.
I’d like to see the Dems try to push 0bamaScare through using budget reconciliation. Then we’d get the best of both worlds. It would be stripped of anything substantive AND the Democrats would evoke the ultimate wrath of the voters. They would be absolutely finished, and 0bama’s dismal presidency along with them.
Sorry I can’t agree with your list fully. Boxer, Dodd, Dorgan and Murray are committed socialists and with the exception of Dodd are in pretty safe seats. Dodd’s seat would be safe were he not caught knee deep in corruption and even with that I think Acorn and the Unions can still make up a lot of dead voters in New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford to pull this out for him.
Interestingly, since I posted that, Reid has come out against it.
Boxer’s seat is not nearly as safe as you might expect.
She has never been particularly popular in California, and her approval is below 50%.
She only gets reelected because the California Republican party is a pathetic band of losers.
They somehow manage to find the one guy who can’t beat Boxer to run, and then proceed to not fund his campaign at all.
Last time, it was the hapless Bill Jones, whose only visibility during the campaign was a homemade GeoCities website proclaiming his opposition to abortion in large Comic Sans font.
Toni Casey could have beaten Boxer. Naturally, the entire party establishment, including Arnold, threw their weight behind Jones during the primary. Then abandoned him in the general.
Wow, Reid came out against it? It’s either because he realizes he’s 10 points down or he’s undertaker’s pride is hurt since they took the death panel out. Didn’t know Boxer was so unpopular out there but like you I have complete faith that the California GOP will manage to FIUP!!!
The thing about what I said is these Democrats are either vulnerable, or will be vulnerable if they vote for 0bamaScare.
In fact, I think even a few more Democrats may be vulnerable than that, if they support it. Senators you would never expect to be in trouble.
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