The Senate is oh-so-close to securing 60 votes to overcome the procedural hurdles that face the health care reform bill. 57 Democrats and 2 Independents are on board. Only Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, a Democrat, remains unsatisfied. Conventional wisdom suggests that his issue is with abortion and the amount [...]
Matthew Dowd of Washington Post thinks defeat of the bill would be good politically for Democrats, bad for Republicans. It's a thought.
If this legislation passes, Democrats will be held accountable for any failures or problems in the system. So if Americans' insurance premiums rise, they will blame the Democrats.' [...]
Reports here this morning indicated the estate tax was headed to a one-year suspension next year. Maybe not. Talk in this and other articles is that the Democrats hope to reinstate it early next year retroactively.
Billionaires might hope so if they have conniving and potentially violent heirs who might [...]
by Ken Blackwell, Contributing Author: President Barack Obama has completed his months-long “deliberations” over his latest Afghanistan policy. He got more applause from Republicans than from Democrats after his long-running Hamlet act. The Prince of Denmark was famous for his indecision: “To be or not to be…”
I noticed today in all the coverage of the Senate Democrats holding up health care, Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s frequently mentioned name was missing. Politico reported that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) is “not on the bill” primarily due to concerns about abortion funding. Several others Democrats have [...]
Democrats are trying to make it as diffcult as possible to pass health care reform. Former DNC chairman Howard Dean became the first notable Democrat to advocate to the Senate that they torpedo the existing bill and move to the reconciliation process to pass a better, cheaper bill.
Norah O’Donnell [...]
Two major developments today:
The Medicare buy-in idea that triggered a lot of enthusiasm among Democrats is out thanks to opposition from Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent. The Senate was scheduled to receive the CBO score of that idea later today. Removal of the Medicare buy-in idea prompted to [...]
The New York Times blog is reporting that the Senate Democrats have been summoned by President Obama to come to the White House for some eggnog and last minute arm twisting on health care reform. I mean nothing says Merry Christmas Happy Holidays like having the [...]
As the Senate awaits a Congressional Budget Office estimate of its latest health care proposal, word is trickling out that Democrats are entertaining what Sam Stein of The Huffington Post describes as the “nightmare scenario.”
He writes,
There is, currently, a nightmare scenario afflicting Democrats on Capitol Hill with regards to [...]
It’s amateur hour for the Republican Party of Arkansas, which has cranked up their moral dudgeon to “high” in response to a throw-away comment from the state Democrats’ executive director in a recent news story.
Here’s the background: On Tuesday, former GOP Rep. Michael Lamoureux won a special election [...]
Monthly polling shows all Republicans gaining on President Obama, with Mike Huckabee doing best, in a virtual dead heat -- 46 Obama, 45 Huckabee. Huckabee's numbers up with Dems, down a bit with Repubs. Democrats like soft-on-crime liberals, apparently.
UPDATE: To all those looking for a Christmas present for' [...]
The Huffington Post's Sam Stein is reporting that Sen. Blanche Lincoln may come to support the new health care reform plan that she and nine other Democrats helped to negotiate over the last several days. This is a portion of Stein's' [...]
MSNBC's First Read and the AP are reporting that Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, MD, are on board with the new Democratic plan hammered out by the gang of ten and announced by Senate Majority Leader Harry [...]
The GOP’s strategy for re-taking control of the House is to hope that as many as 17 Democrats retire from their positions in Congress. Among those identified on the “Dem Retirement Assault List” compiled by the National Republican Congressional Committee are Arkansas congressmen Vic Snyder, Marion Berry and Mike [...]
There’s a lot of information circulating on that Senate Democrats have reached a broad compromise on health insurance reform. Up to this point the primary sticking point has been what to do with the public option. It turns out that the compromise idea may actually come from Arkansas Senator [...]
Everybody's saying the Democrats may have a plan -- drop public option from Senate health bill, expand Medicare to cover uninsured as young as 55. Who doesn't like Medicare? Besides, of course, every Republican in the Senate, all of whom will vote no. It's a government health program, after all.' [...]
Michael Steele, Chairman, Republican National Committee: With a shocking speech on the U.S. Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid showed just how desperate and divorced from reality the Democrats have become in their unrelenting quest to impose socialism on America's health care.Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s amendment to cut tax subsidies of insurance company executives failed the Senate today. The measure required 60 votes and fell four short. The final tally was 56-42. Democrats Tom Carper and Kent Conrad along with independent Joe Lieberman voted with the GOP. Sen. Robert Byrd [...]
Sen. Blanche Lincoln's amendment to cut tax subsidies of insurance executive pay above $400,000 failed in the Senate today. Needing 60 votes, the amendment failed 56-42.
Three senators who caucus with Democrats -- Carper, Conrad and Lieberman -- joined Republicans in supporting the insurance executives. Byrd didn't vote. Lincoln got' [...]
