Another GOP senator open to health care overhaul

Yahoo News ^ | Oct 14, 2009 | By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

[Lazamataz]

WASHINGTON – A second Republican senator signaled Wednesday she's open to voting for sweeping health care legislation this year, putting President Barack Obama closer to a historic achievement that has eluded generations of Democratic leaders.

But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told The Associated Press that the bill approved Tuesday by the Finance Committee needs substantial improvements to make coverage more affordable, contain costs, and protect Medicare. Nevertheless, she joined her Maine GOP colleague Sen. Olympia Snowe in endorsing the goal of far-reaching changes.

[apillar]

Looks like Obama’s two “RINO HO'S” are all lined up to earn their presidential kneepads from pimp daddy.

[sox_the_cat]

She’s got 5 more years. She beat the pantload former Rep Tom Allen last year. We’ve got Snowe for another 3.

[Man50D]

Which leftist enclave do you call home?

The premise of your blanket statement in post #49 and subsequent question in your previous post make the erroneous assumptions there are no conservatives in any of these states. If that were the case, then the tea party rallies would not have near the support they achieved. Your defeatist strategy would prevent people from stopping the increasing socialism occurring presently. It also wrongly presumes such a strategy would not further effect states not in your list.

[apillar]

We need to purge this RINO filth from the party. If the party leadership won’t do it, then we, the base, need to make them feel as unwanted as possible, in hopes that they will pull a Specter. Once we will purge all traitorous garbage from the ranks, then we can start rebuilding in 2010 and 2012. We’ve already got rid a Specter and Chafee, once we get rid of Collins, Snowe, McCain and Grahm the rebuilding can begin.

[stevie_d_64]

No big surprise here...They probably flipped a coin to see who would make noises and or a vote to get it out of committee and on its way to the floor for debate...

Yet...

There seems to be quite a few closed door meetings about the whole issue...Not that that surprises me either...

Somehow, I just fail to see any momentum translating in a real overhaul of 535 ineffective representatives in 2010...

I’ll keep saying that till folks get mad enough at me to prove me wrong...And that will be a win-win for me...

If people don’t show up for these elections...Well, don’t come cryin’ to me...

Collins and Snowe should have been tossed years ago, but their RINO supporters sure do love them...

We’ll take care of Kay Bailey Hutchison on her fantasy quest for the governorship of Texas, and try to get a guy like Mike Williams in there to boost Texas in the U.S. Senate...

Thats about all anyone can do at this point...

[stevie_d_64]

Looks like the movie 2012 takes care of that...hehehe

[NormsRevenge]

Susan says

We have to do something.

Susan, resign. I don’t even care if there is a Republican Gub to appoint another replacement Republican in Maine.

Beginning to wonder , are there any Republicans in Maine?

[stevie_d_64]

Kennebunkport???

[Neverforget01]

I’m really surprised at the folks in Maine. They used to take such pride in their self reliance and independence. Now they are willing to turn themselves over to massive government control. I guess folks from Massachusetts have indeed retired to Maine and taken over.

[pillut48]

[feigns shock and surprise]

Collins is ‘crossing the aisle’ for this crap??
Wow! She and Snowe are the only enlightened Republicans in Congress, eh? /sarc

Feh on them! “The Party of HELL NO” would be much better off if they choose the Spectre route and defect—might as well, they are RINOs of the highest measure, and have been for years!!

I hope their home states WAKE UP and vote them OUT OF THERE in 2010!

[Personal Responsibility]

Once...just once...I’d like to see someone run as a “centrist” “moderate” republican (aka RINO) and move RIGHT while in office.

Has that ever happened in the history of mankind?

[pillut48]

Wait, wait, wait a minute!! Does this mean that Arlen Specter will be voting AGAINST ObamaDON’Tcare?!?

I mean, the three musketeers always go out of their way to vote against their own parties, right? ;-)

[stevie_d_64]

Well, shoot...

If the lobster industry didn’t make it so dirn tasty to keep them around, we might have something there...

[MayflowerMadam]

I can’t even think about this and America’s future. When I’ve had too much political bad news, I stream www.AllQuartetsRadio.com and get a good fix of old-time gospel music. Then I know that no matter what happens — I’m good.

[MichiganConservative]

If the party leadership won’t do it, then we, the base...

Are you a precinct delegate yet?

[SMM48]

Not a surprise but still OUTRAGEOUS!

Where is the Pub leadership? (I know, an oxymoron)

[FreeReign]

Another GOP senator open to health care overhaul

The headline tells me nothing about Collins' position. Everybody is for some kind of overhaul. Deregulation across state lines and tort reform come to mind.

Snowe previously had proposed using the public option as an incentive, or a threat, to private insurers. This "trigger" option, or some version of it, has survived the bitter debate and scrutiny to remain a viable option for compromise. Snowe broached her standby notion again as talks among lawmakers on health care were going back behind closed doors; Senate leaders are trying to merge two very different bills into a new version that can get the 60 votes needed to guarantee passage... Collins, however, said she could not support Snowe's idea because she thinks it would make it too easy for a Democratic administration to impose a government plan nationwide. "It would simply delay the public plan for a couple of years," she told AP.

According to the article, Collins still doesn't support a "trigger" option.

[rhombus]

Part of the Missouri Compromise was letting Maine become a state. The Missouri Compromise may have saved the Union in 1820, but we’re paying the cost for it now.

So Maine would have remained part of Massachusetts?? That would have been a plus??

[pburgh01]

One of the problems up here is that Maine has become one of the top welfare states in the country. People move to Maine to get welfare. There was a girl who was murdered in Bangor this summer. One of her accused murderer’s gave free health care as one of the reasons for why he moved here.

I had heard that, not to pile on. If we are segementing by race or such other non biblical distinction, Caucasians it was #1. It actually suprised me, I would have thought my state Pa with all the manufacturing flight or Ohio.

[redstateconfidential]

Treasonous scum keep electing her.