Posted on 09/09/2009 1:04:22 PM PDT by TroutGuy
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) says that Democratic leaders should not count on him to be the 60th vote for passing healthcare reform this year.
Nelson, who has bucked his party more than any Senate Democrat on procedural votes in 2009, is a pivotal figure on healthcare. With 59 Democrats in the upper chamber and centrist Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) in negotiations with Democratic leaders, the prospect of compiling 60 votes to overcome procedural obstacles appears within reach.
But Nelson isn’t promising anything. He told The Hill, “I’m not going to commit anything at this point in time on procedural votes, neither pro nor con, because it will depend on the circumstances. I can’t make those decisions in advance because it depends on what the bill is and what the circumstances are at the time.”
He added, “Otherwise, you’re just giving away your vote no matter what the underlying circumstance is, and I’m just not prepared to do that.”
The 68-year-old lawmaker, who is serving his 2nd term, recently said he favors a triggered public option if the private insurance market does not work. And on Tuesday, he said, “My vote is not on autopilot.”
Evan Bayh provided the biggest news in this article- he's been quiet lately. He indicated that he would likely vote for cloture on the bill to get it out of the Senate and into committee, but he seemed to suggest that he would be less likely to play ball on the vote on the final bill.
Of course, the Dems still have the reconciliation option, which only requires 50 votes, but a bill passed via reconciliation would sunset and need to be re-enacted after only five years. So if a bill has to pass the Senate, I'd rather see it done via reconciliation because we can just elect new Senators and kill the bill in 2014 with a simple majority.
Bayh and Nelson both come from states that will vote their butts out.
Lots of wet fingers sticking up in the air in Washington right now...
What about the two pink poodles from Arkansas, the one from Lousiana and the two from Montana.
They’re still counting on the swimmer’s seat. They must be pretty sure they can change the law in a hurry.
Don’t need his vote with R-Snowe
Well they wont in January when MA gets its second senator.. But right now even with Snow if *1* dem sides with 39 Republicans they dont have the votes 59-40
“Don’t Count on My Vote”
Not quite the same as saying “I will vote against this”.
He can do the Obama thing by voting “present”.
Were you counting Biden?
The WSJ ran an article a few weeks back pointing out the hollow threat of reconciliation. If reconciliation is used, all items in the bill which do not deal directly with revenue are stripped out. So you would have a bill with the same fiscal amounts, but most of the policy making portions of the bill -- the vast majority, if I understand correctly -- can not be included in the bill.
Biden doesn't vote unless it is a tie. Therefore, his vote could never be used to invoke cloture, since that requires 60 votes.
Biden can break a tie, not vote in cloture..
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