Posted on 09/16/2009 7:41:15 PM PDT by Steelfish
For Democrats, 60 Senators Is Magic Number for Health Bill
CARL HULSE September 16, 2009
WASHINGTON — The unveiling of a compromise health care proposal has Senate Democrats pondering a daunting mathematical challenge: how to keep all 59 Democrats united and attract at least one Republican to pass an overhaul measure.
As many lawmakers on Wednesday got their first detailed look at a Finance Committee plan that was months in the making, senators immediately began exploring whether the plan — when combined with elements of another, more liberal one — could win enough senators to reach that magic procedural number of 60.
“We have to meld a couple of things together and see where we are,” said Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut. “I wouldn’t say today with absolute certainty that you could get to 60, but it would be just as foolish to say you can’t get there either. This is the Senate.”
In trying to reach critical mass for legislative success, advocates of health care overhaul face an extremely delicate balancing act. With the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Democrats control 59 seats, meaning they need at least one Republican to join them if they are to proceed without employing a procedural shortcut that could cause havoc in the Senate.
And Senate Democrats have substantial differences of their own. More liberal members like Senator John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia and Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont, have been strong advocates of a public insurance option; many of the more centrist Democrats have come down just as strongly against one. Centrists are interested in holding costs down; progressives want to bring more Americans under the insurance umbrella, a push that drives costs up.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
wouldn’t it be ironic if Kennedy who claimed his life long mission was to pass universal health care was responsible for it failing coz he died or did not retire sooner...
If there was real reform involved or it was beneficial to the nation, I think 90+ votes would be reasonable. If it’s not, there’s a problem somewhere.
Why are they assuming that Joe Lieberman is going to vote with the democrats on this one? I do not think that he will.
51 is all they need if they go the nuclear option...
Do it Harry, do it.
NY Times is a bunch of idiots if they think all Dems are going to vote for this bill. Even Snowe pulled out and said she wouldn’t vote for the bill.
Heard tonight on the news that a lot of Senate Dems do not like the bill either.
What are they smoking at the NY Times that makes them write these articles day after day?
Be careful what you wish for.
Once this sucker gets in,it will never be repealed and it isn’t worth getting congress back if this is looming.
This has to be stopped and if it is, Obama is toast. He is busy messing up the damned world. But this,,this will destroy our medical care system.
Don’t wish for it.
Only way he can pass anything is with the fifty percent deal. He will never get all the dems on board.
I wanta see this lose, and see the dems self destruct and see the left turn on Obama.
Wow, and I could win the lottery too LOL
Any GOPer who votes for this will be toast in their next primary.
I think there's some already lined up on the stern ready to jump - it's the nature of rats when they see a ship sinking...
hopefully, they are also poor swimmers.
ObamaCare status is in one big goat cluster copulation.
With or without the public option there’s lots of opposition and w/o some arm twisting and dirty backdoor dealings the bill is FUBAR. Plus with ACORN corruption the majority of Americans are in no mood for dirty dealings from DC. Waterloo is good!
That makes two of us! If they go for the 51 votes, the Senate will blow up. I am not even sure they will have 51 as the Baucus plan is being hit from all sides.
Like they don’t already have McCainiac in their pocket. He just wets himself at the prospect of walking across the aisle to his democrat ‘friends’.
If health care passes the Senate with 60 or more votes, and John McCain is one of them, I'll contribute $20 to the next Freepathon in your name (unless it passes by consensus). If he doesn't vote for it, you contribute $20 in my name.
Is it a bet?
“Once this sucker [government health takeover] gets in,it will never be repealed and it isn’t worth getting congress back if this is looming.”
Amen, fight it now, keep the RINOs jumping with calls against it and call your Democrat senator [if you have one] too. We the people have to do the heavy lifting of stopping this bad bill as the GOP is too ready to make a deal on our future welfare and economic survival.
President Theodore Roosevelt said the fastest way to repeal a bad or obnoxious law was its stringent application.
Congress and Senators won’t be affected by this legislation, that is true. But I expect nearly complete lawlessness by doctors and the general public if this bill passes. I predict that if passed, it will be repealed before even being fully implimented by 2013.
I’m certainly not going to comply, even if it means I never collect Social Security. There is a hidden economy in this nation and people can survive without the government. Hell, our ancestors did so for centuries!
RIsky strategy there.
First, docs won’t be lawless, the stuffing has been so punched out of the docs, all they can do is refuse medicare patients and contract privately with medicare patients by doing all kinds of paperwork. I know none who will do it.
Docs are conservative. THe ones that can retire will. If they have four or five years for this thing to come down, they will be ready for retirement and most can retire at fifty.
Patients are not going to be lawless and pay up front for bootleg treatment unless they are well to do enough to do so and most, a huge proportion, are not going to do that.
I might, you might pay upfront and forego social security if we could get away with it, but it won’t happen.
And I can’t see repeal, in two years Obama could veto and effort and in four years not a chance.
Has to be stopped at the walls now.
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