Burris Pushes Back

[dtotire]

Source: NYT


By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

The backlash has begun.

Senator Roland W. Burris, Democrat of Illinois, has vowed that he will not vote for a health care bill that does not include a government-run insurance plan, or public option.

And on Monday, after Democrats indicated that they were prepared to meet the demands of Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and strip the last vestige of a public option from their bill, Mr. Burris went to the Senate floor to warn that he had not committed to vote for the legislation.

Mr. Burris, however, did calibrate his language: “I am committed to voting for a bill that achieves the goals of a public option: competition, cost savings and accountability,” he said. “I will not be able to vote for lesser legislation that ignores those fundamentals.”


http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/burris-pushes-back/


Read more: http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/burris-pushes-back/

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Someone else we have to contend with?

[n2doc]

1. I wish the hell some of the liberal senators would join in

All it would take is 5 or so to go "no public option, no vote. You won't get 60 even if you get Lieberman and Snowe"

[bc3000]

16. I agree, but how about "no single payer, no vote"?

A "public option" can mean anything, and with these bums it would be a public option in name only. If we have to start over, let's start at single payer.

[regnaD kciN]

2. The question isn't whether he will vote for it...

...the question is whether he will vote to filibuster it.

Repug leaders are already claiming that all 40 of their Senators will filibuster. If Burris joins them, it cancels out Lieberscum and it's back to square one.

[AndyA]

3. Good for him. Now where are the rest?

Boxer? Feingold? Kerry?

If a few more will drop out, this piece of crap goes down. Fix it or trash it.

[IRemember]

4. Kerry? LMAO

Forget it. He didn't even vote for drug reimportation. He's not a liberal anymore.

[AndyA]

7. Yeah, I know. I saw him laughing at the committee meeting where protesters

were complaining that no one representing single payer was there. I largely gave up on him after the 2004 election.

But he still has his devotees.

[closeupready]

17. Kerry laughed at single payer advocates? That's interesting - I didn't know that. His millions

that he married have got him covered, so I guess his arrogance makes a certain sense.

[janet118]

18. Kerry has been a real fighter for real health care reform . . .

NOT!!!!

He had his chance to get out there and draw some bottom lines during the Senate Finance Committee meeting and he sat on his hands.

Now he's even selling out on environmental issues with his good pals Graham and Lieberman. What a wuss he is! Without Kennedy, Massachusetts has little to no representation for its progressive views. I sure hope Coakley is not a good old girl. She's talking the talk, but we'll have to wait and see.

[cilla4progress]

5. Senate rules need to change!

I can't believe I'm saying this...but I agree; it needs to be torpedoed and the Senate "rules" need to be revised to only need 51. Go Tom Harkin!

[chimpymustgo]

6. Go Roland Burris!!! Fight for the PEOPLE not the INSURANCE COMPANIES. He's on OUR side.

[DeSwiss]

8. The guy who at one point....

...nobody wanted. Is the guy everybody needs.

- Irony much.

K&R

[depakid]

12. With this, the guy could actually earn a legacy worth the mausoleum he built for himself

[Proletariatprincess]

9. changing senate rules isn't enough...

let's just abolish the Senate. It is undemocratic and outdated. Our system is dysfunctianal. No way it will fix itself...or any of the other big problems this nation faces.
It is not only time to dump this less than useless bill, it is time to desolve the less than useless body that we call the Upper House.

[cilla4progress]

10. Several things that can be done

As I read it, the rules could be changed to allow cloture based on only 51 votes (don't entirely understand process, but...)

You know if there was enough pressure from the people, if we were out in the streets, it would move Lieberman leftwards

Does anyone think there is still hope? I don't see how the bill as currently framed impacts the deficit or is in any other way real change.

[harmonicon]

11. who is this "we" of which you speak?

So far, it looks like this is the only Senator doing what I would expect - at a minimum - every Democrat to do.

Kind of funny that this non-elected Senator is one of the only people in congress looking to do the will of the people.

[hughee99]

13. Maybe it's because he's not running for reelection, so he doesn't need

the industry money that many others are taking.

[indypaul]

14. How soon they forget

Remember the legacy of Ted Kennedy? What we seem to have
here are only tried and true politicians. When they are
bought they stay bought. That seems to apply also to
their spouses.

[bc3000]

15. A Senator standing by his words? Amazing!

Go Burris!

Don't let them get away with it!

[Iowa]

19. Good for Burris!