GOP senator backs off threat to read health bill (BS! READ THE BILL!!)

AP ^ | 11/19/2009 | LAURIE KELLMAN

[tobyhill]

Republican Sen. Tom Coburn is backing off his threat to require that the Senate read the 2,074-page health care bill because some GOP colleagues aren't supporting the effort.

The Oklahoma lawmaker said there's uncertainty about whether reading the bill during Thanksgiving week would be productive. He also said that if the Republicans do decide to tie up the Senate for the dozens of hours it would take, six GOP colleagues have committed to pitching in on reading duty.

[HiTech RedNeck]

If it were just him, he’d talk himself hoarse.

[joethedrummer]

Today’s elected GOP = party of cowards.

[jessduntno]

“The Oklahoma lawmaker said there’s uncertainty about whether reading the bill during Thanksgiving week would be productive. He also said that if the Republicans do decide to tie up the Senate for the dozens of hours it would take, six GOP colleagues have committed to pitching in on reading duty.”

With the exception of dinner and a few other hours on T-Giving DAY, I WILL BE WORKING...jagoffs...

[RummyChick]

This is BS...they are worried about their Thanksgiving holiday. Call the Republicans.

I am so disgusted with the Republicans..I am now an independent and will not give the Republicans one more dime unless they stand up for conservative values.

[Gaffer]

Well, I can imagine that’s entirely true. That no ball son of a bitch Chambliss of mine recently voted to creat a buttload of rabid hard line liberal judgeships -— why the hell not renege on all of his other promises. IT WILL BE A COLD DAY IN COWBOY HELL BEFORE THAT BASTARD GETS MY VOTE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mrs. Don-o]

ACTION ALERT ON THE SENATE NOW

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A mere handful of wobbling Democratic Senators must be persuaded to stop, block, filibuster, the Health Care Reform. The following are considered key Senators: people who will go either way.

Reid has NO margin for error: he has to get ALL 60 Dems in order to put the bill on the floor.

Here's the key concept: Urge these Senators to Vote No on any "procedural vote" to "move to the health bill."

This will happen Friday or Saturday!
We don't want the bill even to make it to the floor!

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Click! Click! Click!
Clickable U.S. Senate Constituent Message Links

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Here’s info you can use if you need local constituent city and zip codes to get past their email message filters.

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Ben Nelson (D NE)
Strong abortion opponent …Against Big Government, the "public option"…Fiscal conservative…Quote: "Faced with a decision about whether or not to move a bill that is bad, I won't vote to move it," he told ABC News. "For sure."
Use: City Omaha, Zip Code 68108 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (402)

Blanche Lincoln (D Ark)
Member of the Senate Finance Committee…Voted twice against making the "public option" part of the bill…Facing tough re-election, eager to display her conservative credentials in a state that was handily carried by Sen. John McCain… probably won't even agree to let the bill be debated on the Senate floor.
Use: City Little Rock, Zip Code 72291 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (501)

Joe Lieberman (I CT)
Independent but caucuses with the Democrats… has threatened to filibuster against public option. ..Quote: “I would use the power I have as a single senator to stop a final vote," he said in a recent televised interview.
Use City Hartford, Zip Code 06160 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (860)

Sen. Susan Collins (R Maine)
Could go either way…One of just three Republican lawmakers to cross party lines and vote for the Recovery Act (a.k.a. Federal Stimulus Package) …voted in favor of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2)…but although pro-“reform”, she is on record as being against (quote) "billions of dollars in new taxes and fees that will drive up the cost of health insurance premiums." The whole bill should be re-written, Collins said, according to the New York Times.
Use City Augusta, Zip Code 04330 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (207)

Robert Casey (D PA)
On record as an opponent of abortion, from a very pro-life district…
Use City Erie, Zip Code 16501 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (814)

Evan Bayh (D IN)
Concerned about tax on medical-device makers in the current legislation…Indiana is the third-biggest state for jobs in the medical device sector, with currently some 63,000 Indiana residents working in that field….Quote: "I want to know what works for families and small businesses."
Bayh says medical devices fee would "seriously threaten thousands of American jobs and deter innovation in the industry."
Use city Indianapolis, Zip Code 46201 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (317)

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D LA)
Often “on the fence” about issues…Mixed voting record on Abortion, rated 43% by NARAL (pro-abortion) and 50% by NRLC (pro-life)…Favors letting some states try "trigger" mechanisms that would create a public option if residents don't have enough insurance choices (needs to be vehemently argued out of this fallback position)…Quote "I'm not for a government-run, national, taxpayer-subsidized plan, and never will be."
Use city New Orleans, Zip Code 70141 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (504)

Roland Burris (D IL)
A bit quirky and cantankerous, Burris' willingness to bend could prove crucial if Reid needs every possible vote in crafting a compromise, such as a national public option that is triggered if certain insurance availability targets aren't met. Or might favor a public option “offered by states, not feds.” Or “might” be pushed to favor no on the bill altogether. Push him to say NO, JUST NO! At age 72, Burris has virtually nothing to lose by defying his party's leaders and voting as he pleases.
Use city Kankakee, Zip Code 60901 (plus any 4 digits), Area Code (815)

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Here's how I do it. These are not phone calls, these are Constituent Message System e-mails. When you click on the link, fill out all the info with your real name and street address, but give the "local" city, state, and zip.

If they do not require a phone number, don't give a phone number. The "local" info just gets you through any possible local-constituent filter.

If you prefer to do the whole thing with your true address info, that's OK too. But sometimes when they have heavy traffic, they may filter for "local" and dump out-of-state messages. So this protects you from being dumped.

Reid does not plan on keeping the "Stupak-Pitts" pro-life amendment in the Senate version of the bill. He is expected to take up the House bill, and then replace it with a "Senate substitute" which will fund elective abortions. He is also in hot water about the "public option," with some Dem Senators saying they won't vote for the bill WITH public option, and some (on the Left) saying they won't vote for the bill WITHOUT it.

This is our chance to stop it dead.

[Cboldt]

-- If it were just him, he'd talk himself hoarse. --

In the past, when the GOP has insisted on the bill being read, it was read by a clerk, not a Senator. The clerk read to an empty chamber and CSPAN-2 cameras.

[4rcane]

if you don’t read the bill, you vote no automatically. If you’re too lazy to read, then vote no

[maggief]

McCain and Co.’s new GOP-lite:

http://republicanwhip.house.gov/newsroom/2009/04/national-council-for-a-new-america-formed.html

Our National Panel of Experts:

Governor Haley Barbour
Governor Jeb Bush
Governor Bobby Jindal
Senator John McCain
Governor Mitt Romney

(snip)

Sincerely,

John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, John Carter, Pete Sessions, David Dreier, Kevin McCarthy, Roy Blunt

Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, Lamar Alexander, John Ensign, John Cornyn, John Thune, Kay Bailey Hutchison

//

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/republican-party/gingrich-to-be-a-public-face-of-cantors-effort-to-remake-gop/

Gingrich Joins Cantor’s Effort To Remake GOP

[KarlInOhio]

But the Senators don't have to read it because they have Senate staff to do that. I thought the Republicans were just beginning to show a vestigial spine and gonads. Apparently it was just a camera trick. The Gelded Old Party strikes again.

Taking over 1/6 of the country's economy when Reid wants it done with two days of debate and the Republicans won't even put up a fight. A pox on all of their houses.

[roses of sharon]

There’s no stopping this. And you’ll be amazed how easily it will pass the Senate. A year from now, the attitude will be “We got socialized medicine, and the world didn’t end! Those demotards were right.” 2010 will not be a bloodbath, people forget. And the ugly stuff doesn’t hit until 2013, remember. That is deliberately planned.

The GOP will be lucky to pick up twenty seats in the House, maybe even ten. The republic has been dying for decades; the ascension of Teleprompter Jesus is just the arrival of the minister for the funeral. Barry was right, the Nation Below Canada is no more exceptional than Greece or Turkey or Zimbabwe. The voters have seen to that.

It is time to sack DC.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Dammit to hell!!!! READ THE DAMNED BILL!!!!! (Sorry....I’m just REALLY ticked.)

[SF_Redux]

GOP, Party of Slinky’s

[Piranha]

And what a hero he would be, hoarse voice and all. This would give conservatives the opportunity to study the bill and all of its ugly ramifications What a disappointment Sen. Coburn is, if he really is waffling on reading it out loud.

[tobyhill]

Reid told the GOP that if they wanted the bill read then they have to do it themselves but if that’s the case I’m sure they could slow it down to about two words an hour.

[library user]

The clerk read to an empty chamber and CSPAN-2 cameras.

What good does that do? The clerk would be reading non-stop until sometime Saturday morning or afternoon.

[DrDavid]

I think the Senators shouldn't be allowed to vote unless he or she is present for the entire reading.

No longer will Senators have to resort to reading the phone book for filibuster material. They could just read Cap & Tax or this Health Care Insurance bills.

[Migraine]

Me, too! I’ll say to one of my senators (McLame): “if you’re not going to use that senate seat, do you mind if I borrow it for a while”? I’ll dang sure read the bill, or share time doing it.

I was just reading today, about 3/4 the way down the bill, where the HHS Secy has a blank check to scholarship students (guess which race need not apply?) to get degrees in mental health and social work fields. Another blank check was for mental health clinics. Yet another was for social work organizations (ACORN).

These things have nothing to do with health insurance reform. Blank checks.

My new bumper stickers will read “BEWARE — Clueless Asses Writing Hot Checks!”

[tobyhill]

BINGO.