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Why was it so hard for Dems even to start health care debate?
Washington Examiner ^ | Byron York

Posted on 11/21/2009 4:24:18 PM PST by indianrightwinger

Why was it so hard for Dems even to start health care debate? By: Byron York Chief Political Correspondent 11/21/09 6:43 PM EST The extraordinary thing about the dramatic events surrounding the health care bill in the Senate is that there is any drama in it at all. Lawmakers are simply voting to begin debate on their version of health care reform. Just begin debate -- not end it, and not move on to a final vote.

If Democrats, with a 60-vote majority in the Senate, were not able to begin debate on the top Democratic policy priority in a generation -- well, that would be a devastating turn of events, both for the party and for President Obama. And yet just starting debate has proved difficult, and only today did the 60th Democratic vote fall in place in favor of beginning the process.

I asked a high-ranking Republican Senate source whether it was really that hard to get the Democratic votes together. Could it have been a media-fed story, with reporters looking to inject some unwarranted drama into the proceedings? No, I was told. "It really was that hard for them to get to 60 just to proceed," the source said. "Very telling."

And judging by the statements of four moderate Democrats -- Lieberman, Lincoln, Landrieu, and Nelson -- it will be far, far harder when the process comes to the really important vote, the one that would bring debate to a close debate and move on to an up-or-down vote on the Democrats' health care plan. Today all four of those Democrats publicly threatened to side with Republicans and kill the bill before it can move to a final vote, unless their concerns are met.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial
KEYWORDS: 111th; bhohealthcare; byronyork; healthcare; obamacare; reid; senate
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To: Semperfiwife
If this bill passes and Obama signs it into law, can the newly minted Congress of 2010 which will NOT include the Dems who got kicked out of Congress because of their vote, REPEAL this deficit busting bill?

I would think the GOP would need a veto proof majority in both houses with Obama in office .. ? .. !

21 posted on 11/21/2009 5:02:38 PM PST by Jay Howard Smith (Retired(25yrNCO)Military)
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To: indianrightwinger

As a wise man (my father) once said...

THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!


22 posted on 11/21/2009 5:02:44 PM PST by 2nd Bn, 11th Mar (The "P" in democrat stands for patriotism)
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To: indianrightwinger

It’s not just Nelson, Landrieu, Lieberman and Lincoln, it’s Bayh, McCaskill, Dorgan, Pryor, Warner, Webb and maybe even Feinstein and Bill Nelson.


23 posted on 11/21/2009 5:07:05 PM PST by praepos
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To: JoSixChip

That’s not how it works. They need 60 votes for cloture—i.e., to stop debating. The so-called nuclear option refers to reconciliation which needs only 51 votes. But that’s not going to happen. Nobody on the left wants it—it would wreck the package. They want the structure intact even more than they want the public option.


24 posted on 11/21/2009 5:10:48 PM PST by praepos
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To: EagleUSA

You are so right — Let the games begin.


25 posted on 11/21/2009 5:13:18 PM PST by PhiKapMom (Mary Fallin - OK Gov/Coburn - Senate 2010 ! Take Back the House/Senate! Stop ZERO!)
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To: prophetic
Everyone please take note of the $100 million bribe, paid with tax dollars to Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), to secure her vote just to start the debate.

I heard that during the debate she stated it was $300 million for her constituents... AND SAID SHE WAS NOT ASHAMED OF THE BRIBE BUT **PROUD**

ha ha - we'll see about that in 2010...

26 posted on 11/21/2009 5:13:28 PM PST by Momto2 ("By perseverance the snail reached the ark." Charles Spurgeon)
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To: indianrightwinger

They can’t even get thier own party members to vote on this crap without having to use AMERICAN TAX PAYER MONIES to extort thier vote. This is the drek we now have in Washington. Shameless, arrogant, decietful, despicable, subhumans. Their confidence is sickening. Thier vote is thier ticket home!


27 posted on 11/21/2009 5:15:52 PM PST by ronnie raygun (Leaders who refuse to lead will be lead by the people)
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To: praepos
"That’s not how it works. They need 60 votes for cloture—i.e., to stop debating. The so-called nuclear option refers to reconciliation which needs only 51 votes. But that’s not going to happen. Nobody on the left wants it—it would wreck the package. They want the structure intact even more than they want the public option."

Excuse me! they said it would never get this far. BUT IT DID!!!
28 posted on 11/21/2009 5:16:33 PM PST by JoSixChip (I can't lead the fight, but I will fight. km_freep@yahoo.com)
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To: indianrightwinger

Just by reading the headline I assumed that the Dems can’t read. They didn’t read the crap-n-traitor bill either.


29 posted on 11/21/2009 5:17:12 PM PST by repubpub
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To: Red Steel
This bill, if it passes into law, will not be entrenched in the American psyche or the economy until after 1 to 3 years after implementation. I think the Dems are making a mistake by not getting their abominable bill to take affect as soon as possible and until then it will be vulnerable to repeal.

You are correct but even the RATS realize it has to be paid for and they can't get the funds shuffled, borrowed or printed fast enough to pull it off that quick. There is a chance to stop this but it's kind of difficult if the representatives are going shove this through for our own good and their re-election bids be damned.

30 posted on 11/21/2009 5:17:18 PM PST by Mr Fuji
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To: Semperfiwife

If the new Congress doesn’t, the States should.

If the States won’t, the People must...


31 posted on 11/21/2009 5:30:01 PM PST by castlebrew (Gun control means hitting where you're aiming!)
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To: Nervous Tick
Tonight is the night when we have the Best chance to kill this socialist monstrosity of a bill.

If The democrats get 60 out of 100 votes tonight then the bill will go to the floor where in my estimation it is virtually assured of passing into law. I know all Democrats know this to be true that once they pass it tonight it will become law.

All Democrat senators will be voting yes to pass this bill tonight , voting yes for tyranny, voting against freedom, voting yes for 2000 pages of more private sector killing government bureaucracy and government regulations.

The fact that not even one democrat will vote to kill this Marxist monstrosity shows that Democrats are Marxists, shows how evil the democrats are and that democrats are the real threat to the American people.

In contrast ,Tonight, all Republican senators, all 40 of them , 100% of them ( 100% is perfection) will vote to kill this socialist bill.All Republicans will vote against socialism, against tyranny ,against bigger government , against government healtcare.All Republicans will vote yes for freedom/capitalism/prosperity. Tonight in the biggest vote EVER.We see where each party lines up: to destroy America or to keep it alive. Now the democrats with their near filibuster proof Senate take off their sheeps' clothes and you see the ravenous wolves underneath( well I hope you see how evil they are now?).

God bless every Republican Senator for they are all perfectly voting to preserve the Republic , for America , and for freedom. All democrats tonight are voting to destroy America .
All Democrats are voting for socialism which will make American people starving slaves of the government.

This bill never had a chance to pass during the 12 years Republicans controlled Congress. Neither did Amnesty, the fairness doctrine, net neutrality , cap and trade have a chance to pass in the Republican controlled Congress.Democrats will pass all of these marxist bills And they will do it without any Republican help and against the will of the American people as they are doing the big one tonight.But you are saying the parties are the same.

I disagree with you.I don't want to hear again how the parties are the same as tonight all democrats are voting for socialism and all Republicans are voting against socialism . You can keep saying what you want( that the parties are the same) since you have freedom of speech . But I think that depresses conservative voter turnout and did help the Democrats achieve their filibuster proof Congress.So all of you that stayed home and didn't vote and propagandized against the GOP,saying they are the same as these satanic, Marxist , villains the Democrats, all of you that didn't donate to the GOP, all of you who did all this in my opinion are as guilty as the Democrats for the passing of this bill that will happen tonight which is the first step in turning the U.S. toward socialism. Socialism will make the American people starving slaves of the government.

32 posted on 11/21/2009 5:31:45 PM PST by Democrat_media
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To: indianrightwinger

I am interested in how China, the dollar, and gold vote on this in the upcoming weeks.


33 posted on 11/21/2009 5:34:58 PM PST by Vince Ferrer
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To: Democrat_media

Good post.

Given that the taxes and penalties start now, and the program rolls out in about 4 years, seems like we’re back to the old “taxation without representation” gig...

Just remember the names of the tyrannical elitists who voted to put YOU in jail...


34 posted on 11/21/2009 5:35:02 PM PST by castlebrew (Gun control means hitting where you're aiming!)
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To: PhiKapMom
To tell you the truth I am really shocked by the number people on FR who are not getting the simple fact that this is just a meaningless vote to START the debate. The socialists do not have 60 votes to end the debate on the current bill with its current form and the current public option aka socialized medicine that it contains. Therefore this current bill with its current form is DEAD.

What we are going to get as a final bill is a trigger public option or trigger co-op which also means that socialized medicine is dead because triggers never work in reality.

35 posted on 11/21/2009 5:36:06 PM PST by jveritas (God Bless our brave troops)
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To: prophetic

The $100 million Mary Landrieu got is not all.

I’m sure this Marxist villain has pocketed a good bit of the Hurricane Katrina money, the $700 billion dollars that the media,Blanco, and Landrieu begged and stole from the rest of America. I don’t see where that money went. I am in New Orleans and the levees are not built up to where they need to be , roads are terrible, no coastal restoration and the coast keeps encroaching on New Orleans. I, like the New Orleans East Vietnamese community recieved no government money as we didn’t ask for any.


36 posted on 11/21/2009 5:40:35 PM PST by Democrat_media
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To: JoSixChip

Who said it would never get this far? It was never a question of whether it would be debated. Senators Kyl and DeMint claim voting for procedural clotures assures passage of most bills—which is true but beside the point. This is not like most other bills. This is revolutionary—and huge—and it’s opposed by much of the country. No way some moderates won’t oppose this. But they need to give it a hearing first—to show solidarity with their leader.

Check the intrade percentage. Only 3.9% believe it’ll pass. That’s ridiculously low.


37 posted on 11/21/2009 5:40:42 PM PST by praepos
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To: Democrat_media

>> This bill never had a chance to pass during the 12 years Republicans controlled Congress.

Wrong.

A bill similar in principle and effect if not magnitude most certainly did pass during the first Bush term, under very similar conditions, rammed through in both the senate and the house by big government country club Republicans.

Or don’t you recall the Prescription Drug fiasco, and its floor drama in the House, in 2003? The arm-twisting, the holding the vote open until the big-government republicans could eke out enough votes?

Big government country club Republicans gave us Obama.

Never again will I vote for a man or woman *simply* because they have an (R) by their name.

NEVER AGAIN.

I learned my lesson with John McCain, who I voted for and contributed money to.

NEVER AGAIN


38 posted on 11/21/2009 5:44:56 PM PST by Nervous Tick (Stop dissing drunken sailors! At least they spend their OWN money.)
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To: jveritas

No, the folks here get it or at least most of them. Most are just saying that by allowing it to come to the floor for debate that the RATS will win. They can force a vote with a nuclear option of only 51 votes to end any filibustering. Then another 51 votes to pass the legislation. This gives 9 RAT Senators the ability to run for cover.


39 posted on 11/21/2009 5:47:39 PM PST by Mr Fuji
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To: prophetic

“That $100 million is not just a SIMPLE BRIBE - ITS BLOOD MONEY!!!”

With OUR money!!!!!!!!


40 posted on 11/21/2009 5:50:17 PM PST by ScottinVA (The arrogance of this Congress is staggering. November 2010 can't get here quickly enough.)
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