Posted on 11/21/2009 9:43:50 AM PST by kristinn
C-SPAN 2 is carrying the Senate floor debate live this afternoon.
The Democrats control the floor right now. Earlier, Republican Senators Judd Gregg, Kit Bond, Jeff Sessions and David Vitter gave good speeches and dialogues on the budget-busting effects of ObamaCare.
Maria Cantwell is speaking now. Mary Landrieu is excpected to speak shortly.
The cloture vote is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST tonight.
Lie-berman said he would stand w/the filibuster since he knows that the next vote only takes 50 votes to pass it.
Pray for America’s Freedom
yep if GOP sticks together and with lieberman that’s 41 and debate will never end. Dems will have to change the bill from it’s current form in order to get cloture. And they will because they don’t want this to drag into 2010 still open. The longer it drags the better chance it dies since it becomes a campaign year. I think Joe will stand strong exactly because of the big HC companies in Conn. Since Snowe has been in favor of a trigger option that’s my guess of the direction they’ll go to try and get her vote (although that could lose another dem). Nelson has also said he wants changes or he’d fillibuster.
One other note, they won’t go 51. I think time has past to do it but even if it hasn’t the pubs could basically tie it up forever. It’s just not feasible.
THIS IS NOT THE IMPORTANT VOTE!!!!!!!!
The news media has hyped this all out of proportion. There has to be TWO 60 votes. One now to START debate. One later to END debate. The 2nd one to END debate is the true cloture vote. That is the one that counts. NOT THIS ONE. The Republicans could all vote for this one, it doesn't matter.
The voice of reason. Thank you.
This is the last time that I am posting this FACTUAL information.
1. No Republican senator will vote for cloture tonight. There will be 40 solid NO votes so that no RAT will have any political cover. Everyone stop bitching about RINOS. We will not have a single GOP defection tonight.
2. Regrettably, it appears that no RAT will vote NO tonight, which will generate a strict party line vote — so that the RATS will completely own this monstrosity moving forward.
3. People keep asking about Lieberman. Lieberman announced weeks ago that he would vote YES on this cloture vote and NO on the next cloture vote if the final bill contained a public option. Keep up with us, please.
4. Debate will continue well into December. It will again take 60 votes to shut off debate. We are all cautiously optimistic that Reid will not be able to muster 60 votes to end debate. However, given that Christmas will be upon us, he might be able to thread the needle, make everyone happy and pass a bill. It is not likely but possible, so everyone must bash EVERY Democratic senator when they are home over Thanksgiving.
5. The reason why this procedural vote tonight matters is because to amend the bill during debate, it will take 60 votes. The Reid bill contains federal funding for abortion. Every pro-life RAT (Landrieu, Casey, Nelson) are showing their true colors because the pro-life forces know full well they will NEVER be able to muster 60 votes on the floor to reflect the Stupak prohibitions on abortion funding. Landrieu is now in a world of hurt with the Catholic Church in Louisiana, but regrettably she is not up for re-election until 2014 and is thus giving the Church and her constituents the finger.
6. Blanche Lincoln was left holding the bag and now she cannot possibly vote NO tonight. However, she is now toast for her re-election.
Tonight matters — but mostly procedurally.
The danger is if Reid can get a bill to conference. If that happens, then we are in real danger.
Thank you and thank all the doctors there. If this thing passes - doctors and nurses will have an ACORN/SEIU/UAM/former postal worker union thug as their boss.
The doctors will be running around working like dogs and the union goon boss will be drinking martinis and eating peanuts.
Criminal charges of extortion should be filed against Landrieu and bribary charges against Reid.
Let’s keep this simple. Until the cloture rule came along, a handful of Senators could postpone a floor vote on a bill indefinitely, a.k.a. a “filibuster.”
Dem Senators used this all the time to stifle Civil Rights legislation.
With the advent of cloture, if 3/5ths of the Senate vote to stop debate - debate stops. So 60 is the magic number to stop debate.
Once debate is stopped, the bill can go to the floor for a vote - where only a simple majority is required, or 51 votes.
There are 60 votes in Harry Reid’s pocket, so when debate is killed passage of the bill is a foregone conclusion. That’s why the Freeper who said cloture is meaningless is wrong. Well, he’s right in the sense that it does not actually represent passage of the bill, but the net affect is that it does.
If they can get 60 votes for cloture, they will certainly get 51 for passage.
Now Mary from Louisiana can vote in favor of cloture, but vote against the bill when it comes to the floor. In less enlightened times, she could tell her constituency with a straight face that she voted against the bill - which would technically be true.
But by voting FOR cloture, she was really voting for its passage.
Event at Federal Bldg. L.A. starts at noon — should go until around 2 or so —
Hugh Hewitt from the radio will be there — a good conservative -
These marches are all over the country. The more people the merrier. I’m heading over there from the Valley to arrive by noon. Hope to see you there!!! I’ll be wearing my Don’t Tread on Me tee-shirt!
This is just media hype. The left will vote for this monster no matter what is in it. All their posturing on Abortion and the public option is PR for their campaign fund raising. No matter what they will vote for this. The only hope is 1 Democrat/Independent Senator with a spine. All the other noise from the Democrats for, or against, Abortion is just noise.
actually to stop the debate takes 60 votes which is usually where the battle is .
today vote was build up by the Obama state media to help the dems fund raising and there media pals to spread a propaganda victory for their Obama healthcare bill .
Good post; also I think you’re right about the public option trigger clause.
Go Docs!!!!
Around 8 p.m., the Senate will hold a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture.
Reid needs 60 votes to overcome a certain GOP filibuster attempt and open the chamber's debate on the bill. It also would take 60 votes to close debate that could last for weeks, while final approval of the bill would require only a simple majority.
SNIP
If Democrats do get the 60 votes needed to proceed, the legislative game only just begins. Expect several weeks of amendments being introduced, impassioned debates on the Senate floor and news conferences for and against the proceedings.
If the Senate manages to pass a bill, a congressional conference committee would need to merge the House and Senate proposals into a consensus version requiring final approval from each chamber before moving to President Obama's desk to be signed into law.
exactly
More factual mistakes. You are wrong. The next vote will still take 60 to end debate. Then it only takes 50 on final passage (plus Biden to make 51).
Lieberman will stand with us on cloture if the final bill contains a public option.
This is 8th grade civics.
thanks for the nice summary.
true - but that sigma chi party during rush week took out those brain cells where this stuff was stored
I know I took civics in grammar school, but I thought that taxes had to originate in the house?
RE: “Thank you and thank all the doctors there. If this thing passes - doctors and nurses will have an ACORN/SEIU/UAM/former postal worker union thug as their boss.
The doctors will be running around working like dogs and the union goon boss will be drinking martinis and eating peanuts.”
*************
You’re welcome — and what you say is true — when I visited the old Soviet Union in the seventies the conditions were terrible and we were told doctors ‘earned’ the same as taxi drivers.
Gee, really motivates one to become a physician, doesn’t it? There is so much that stuck with me about the communist system and that is why I so passionately opposed to what Obama and fellow commie thugs are doing to this country.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.