Senate Democrats threaten delaying tactics in drive to kill Medicare bill

[Purveyor]

The Senate Democratic leader promised a vigorous fight Sunday against the Medicare prescription drug bill, one of President Bush's top priorities, which passed the House only after an unprecedented three-hour vote.

Sen. Tom Daschle acknowledged, however, that Democrats lack the votes to sustain a filibuster threatened by Sen. Edward Kennedy and his fellow Massachusetts Democrat, presidential contender John Kerry. Republicans can stop the filibuster with 60 of the Senate's 100 votes.

"A number of our colleagues believe that we ought to focus on the flaws, and there are many, many flaws today," said Daschle, D-S.D. "But I must say we will fight this bill as hard as we possibly can. We have a number of procedural options available to us, and we're going to use them all."

*snip*

Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware and presidential hopeful Joe Lieberman of Connecticut said they would support Kennedy's filibuster. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., appearing with Kennedy on ABC, said he would, too, but for a reason different from Kennedy's.

Link to entire AP article

[Cocoa]

1. your headline got cut off at an unfortunate point

left off "bill."

I was getting ready to be outraged at the whores implying dems were trying to kill medicare. :-)

[Purveyor]

2. Thanks for pointing that out...

Fixed it!

[pasadenaboy]

3. I hate Daschle.

He has McCain, could probably pick up 2 or 3 other repubs and Jeffreys. You mean he can't get 35 of the 47 dems to support the fillibuster? He could if he wanted to, he's just speaking out of both side of his mouth as usual.

He's worthless.

[w4rma]

4. a filibuster is a delaying tactic (n/t)

[pasadenaboy]

13. he cannot sustain the fillibuster

"Sen. Tom Daschle acknowledged, however, that Democrats lack the votes to sustain a filibuster threatened by Sen. Edward Kennedy and his fellow Massachusetts Democrat, presidential contender John Kerry. Republicans can stop the filibuster with 60 of the Senate's 100 votes."

As I said, he can't get 35 of the 47 democrats to support the fillibuster? He is useless.

[0007]

5. Who are the dems going for the medicare bill?

[NewJerseyDem]

20. Too Many

Baucus (MT)
Breaux (LA)
Landrieu (LA)
Lincoln (AR)
Nelson (NE)
Conrad (ND)
Miller (GA)
Feinstein (CA)
Jeffords (VT)

There will probably be more. I think we need to worry about Pryor, Nelson (FL), Bayh and Carper the most however others might also support it.

[NewJerseyDem]

19. That doesn't make any sense

He can't just order the Democrats to vote against the bill. If they want to vote for it they will. Senators don't listen to their leadership. Few people understand how weak the leaders really are. The Senate isn't at all like the House of Representatives.

[pasadenaboy]

21. So, what good is he?

besides getting ethanol subisdies and supporting the Iraq war authorization?

[Snellius]

6. Daschle misses the point AGAIN. (God he's stupid!)

He's right to try to block this bill. For no other reason than because this bill is so long and complicated even those who are voting on it haven't read it. The Republicans are obviously trying to rush and ram it through before anyone notices what's in it.

Where Daschle doesn't seem to have a clue is the same as Iraq. He bleats like a sheep as Rove herds him into a corner and then whines and screams when he can't get out. This bill has nothing to do with seniors. This is politics. They want a touchdown for the Bush team. And if they get their big score, they'll run over Medicare like it never was there. Daschle is a political dupe.

[Virgil]

9. The procedure is terrible. Reminding of Patriot Act

I am against this terrible legislation and I am qualified to be a member of AARP and never will be a member.

We have seen how the Nazis are putting small pieces of the shouted-down Patriot Act 2 into appropriation bills. Even if this were a decent package, the procedure sucks. It is about 4 inches thick and just came out of committee on Thursday. Who has had time to even read it. It very well could contain some more attacks on our liberties and who would know and who would tell.

The provisions do not even start until January 2006 and they have all next year. Then poof. Thursday a committee says here, we need to pass this before Thanksgiving. Screw the report, and stop the procedure. It all stinks.

[Snellius]

11. Welcome, Virgil. I read your book

in Latin class a long time ago.

[Malva Zebrina]

17. Yes, Byrd held it up

looks like an encylopedia . How can seniors even understand all of it? Durbin did a great job of putting it into understandable, clear language. What a shameful debacle-- Bush is actually reaching his fascist goals by bullying --next? Some attack on SS--count on it. Count on faith based charity money to be knocking at the door. Count on the dissolution of the public school system in favor of private, tax payer funded voucher schools. That is coming up next. The draft proposal has been on the books since he took office and is just sitting there waiting to be passesd. A train wreck in the offing. And he and his pathetic, fatassed frump will go off on another Euopean vacation, after they take a couple of more vacations in Crawfrod-let them eat cake she says with that joker smile pasted all over her wrinkled face--her cake--Pinapple upside down cake, slathered with anything that is tacky looking-(impressive to them)-perhaps coconut shavings.

[Malva Zebrina]

16. I always read your posts snellius

but on this I just want to say-- I think it does have something to do with seniors. :-)

[Snellius]

18. Of course you're right.

To qualify:

I am a senior (or at least, I'm a member of AARP) and I too pay my pound of flesh to Merck and Pfizer and Eli Lilly each year just to keep my cholestrol in line and my blood pressure from going off the scale. But this benefit is a pact with the devil.

I meant to say: for the Republican supporters of this bill, for Rove and DeLay especially, all they really care about is making sure that Bush can wave some "bold" and "compassionate" lollipop in front of seniors to con their vote. It may backfire. But when one sees a Medicare bill authored by HMOs and drug companies and Karl Rove and rammed down everyones throat by Tom DeLay and Mitch McConnell, WATCH OUT. Their ulterior motive and ultimate aim is to sabotage the -- what I think inevitable -- progress of a public health insurance, which everyone who has studied the problem knows is the only way to ultimately solve the looming health crisis. Every advanced community in the world has some form of public health insurance, EXCEPT THE UNITED STATES. Yes, England and Canada and Sweden and France and Germany may all have problems, but none of them want to trade their problems for the chaos and cost of unregulated drug pushers and HMOs.

This bill is purely political because Republicans are using it to insure they have the political domination to surreptiously sabotage Medicare. I've worked out the benefits. Add in the premiums and inflation and price increases and deductibles and "donut holes" and there's not much left. It certainly isn't as much as the bill implies. And definitely not worth the political lose. It's a scam. And like any good scam you lay down a quarter to get back a dime and think you're coming away a winner.

[baby_bear]

7. Feinstein is on the floor now talking about the good things in the bill

Geez. What a sell-out.

s_m

[pasadenaboy]

12. DiFi

always votes republican when it counts. That's why she almost got recalled when she was mayor of SF. She's a total sell out.

[UTUSN]

8. Senators' Phone # [phone]

******QUOTE*****

http://www.retiredamericans.org
Call Your Senators 800-511-3802
www.retiredamericans.org
New TV Spots Airing Nationally—The Alliance has launched a new television campaign to educate seniors on the Medicare bill. The ad explains why seniors should urge lawmakers to vote no. Sixty-four percent of seniors oppose the bill because it would increase payments to keep their choice of doctors and hospitals or be forced to switch to an HMO, does nothing to bring down the cost of drugs and leaves seniors with thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.

----------President Bush Addresses Empty Seats—Phoenix, AZ On November 13, about 30 Alliance activists showed up and outnumbered supporters at a sparsely attended event sponsored by Senior Voices for Medicare Choices, a group fronted by insurance companies. The event broadcast President Bush's November 13 remarks from Orlando urging Congress to push through a bill that would privatize Medicare.

*****UNQUOTE****

[ozymandius]

10. Perhaps one should ask Frist how HCA will benefit from this bill. nt

[pasadenaboy]

14. that wouldn't be polite

don't expect Daschle to raise that issue. Karl and W might take him off the Xmas card list.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi Purveyor!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: