Pivotal Senate Health Vote Looms [Sen Tom Coburn: "This Process Is Corruption"]

Wall St. Journal ^ | December 20th 2009

[Steelfish]

Pivotal Senate Health Vote Looms

GREG HITT and JANET ADAMY

WASHINGTON -- The White House and Senate leaders expressed confidence Sunday that they have the 60 votes in the Senate needed to overcome Republican opposition and pass a bill estimated to cost $871 billion over a decade.

A flurry of deal-making amid a December snowstorm locked in the final elements of the Senate bill and won the support of the last holdout, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson. He won a tightening of rules to ensure no federal money allocated under the sweeping bill is used to fund abortions, and got more money for his state in the Medicaid program.

Democratic leaders also threw in $10 billion in spending on community health centers, a nod toward liberals, and dropped a proposed tax on elective cosmetic surgery after the American Medical Association strongly objected. In its place, the bill now has a 10% tax on indoor tanning services.

The agreements set the stage for a pivotal vote early Monday on the first of three motions to close off debate on the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said he believes he has the backing of all 58 Senate Democrats as well as the two independents who sit with the majority. If he is correct, the last obstacle would be hashing out differences with the House.

(snip)

Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), speaking on the Senate floor Sunday as the chamber spent a third weekend in a row tackling health care, called the Nebraska Democrat's deal the "full Nelson." He added, "This process is not legislation, this process is corruption...It's a shame the only way we can come to a consensus in this country is to buy votes."

[bayliving]

"This process is not legislation, this process is corruption...It's a shame the only way we can come to a consensus in this country is to buy votes."

Don't just speak about it, don't just get angry and throw words at it.

It is LONG past time to start throwing fists at it.

The republicans keep talking and talking and talking.

Time for talking is over. Time for fisticuffs is starting.

[Earthdweller]

They call them Gypsies tramps and thieves. And every night all the men would come around..and lay their money down.

[FreedBird]

It is hard to trust any of them anymore. We should throw all the bums out. Someone should check to see if this deal making is legal.

[Ulysse]

It’s a shame that votes are bought?
It’s NOT A SHAME BUT A CRIME against US law ,against society,against people...
It deserves a very serious inquiry

[TruthHound]

Tyrants will feel the wrath of the people. Liberty or death.

[Parmy]

Of course it’s corruption. It has been that way for a long time. It has to stop.

[RetiredArmy]

If they say $871 billion, I'd just add a few dozen more zeroes to the end of that number to come closer to how much we actual tax payers are going to have to fund out.

[saganite]

“He won a tightening of rules to ensure no federal money allocated under the sweeping bill is used to fund abortions”

Which is a flat out lie.

[TNCMAXQ]

I forget when it was they changed the number to end filibusters from 67 to 60. As I recall, Republicans at the time (1970s?) were for the idea. Now it looks like a bad move.

[Steelfish]

So long as we have nearly 100% Blacks and 65% Hispanics voting for Obama, and 67% of those voters ages 18-29 voting for Obama, and according to Gallup, “white women who were single, unmarried, widowed or separated” voted “overwhelmingly” for Obama, I think we conservatives have our work cut out for us.

[lonestar]

It's a shame the only way we can come to a consensus in this country is to buy votes."

They use our $$$ to buy votes!

I wonder if the CBO facxtors i the half-BILLION this bill is costing us in bribes!

[WHBates]

"The republicans keep talking and talking and talking."

I'm sorry but I guess I don't understand what you expect them to do? I think they have been pretty solid against this POS. We the voters and tax payers have to do something about this.

[lonestar]

It's a shame the only way we can come to a consensus in this country is to buy votes."

They use our $$$ to buy votes!

I wonder if the CBO facxtors i the half-BILLION this bill is costing us in bribes!

[bayliving]

You are correct.

I am sorry too.

I know that there isn't much more that they CAN do.

I am just so frustrated right now. I feel hopeless.

I am looking for action, ANYTHING that can be done.

I feel like my rights and liberty are being trampled on and there is NOTHING that I can do to stop it.

I am increasingly believing that I have to let go and LET GOD. This country, MY country needs nothing short of a Christmas Miracle to save it.

[Earthdweller]

It does not matter who they voted for last year. The majority of Americans do not want this bill and the crooks in DC know it.

[Carley]

The WSJ has become part of the problem. Lies and misrepresentations a good part of the time.

And where is their article on the oops from the CBO. They ‘corrected’ their estimates of the so called ‘savings’ late last night, IIRC.

[Carley]

Time for fisticuffs?????????????

brilliant, just brilliant

[bayliving]

I wish that just ONE of these Republicans would do exactly what I WISH I could and would do if given the chance and just calmly walk across the isle and knock the sh!# out of (you pick) the democrat.

I mean then maybe these a$$clowns would understand the seriousness of this situation.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

It's a shame the only way we can come to a consensus in this country is to buy votes.

It's the RAT-way. Welcome to the big city!