Snowed Under: Dems Scramble For Health Care Votes As GOP Vows Delay And Snowstorm Nears

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

Republicans threatened to delay Senate business with a health care read-a-thon this weekend, as Democrats kept searching for 60 votes to advance President Barack Obama's signature issue and a forecast of heavy snow added to the list of complications.

At a news conference Friday in the Capitol, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accused Democrats of trying to ram the health care bill through with dozens of changes as yet unseen, and promised to do everything in their power to prevent it.

"I think we've made it rather clear we're not going to expedite consideration of the health care bill," McConnell said.

Added McCain: "I don't think it would be outrageous to ask for a bill that we haven't seen to be read."

Democrats, after a week of bitter intra-party disagreements over the compromises Senate leaders made to keep the bill moving, were still trying to come up with the 60 votes needed to overcome unanimous Republican opposition. Leaders kept negotiating with the only known Democratic holdout, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, on tough abortion restrictions that he would accept.

Meanwhile, as the weather forecast called for up 20 inches of snow in a city easily paralyzed by much less, senators were put on notice they could be needed to vote on procedural questions before 8 a.m. EST Saturday.

Read more: http://www.newser.com/article/d9clsq501/snowed-under-dems-scramble-for-health-care-votes-as-gop-vows-delay-and-snowstorm-nears.html

[WriteDown]

1. This bill needs to die....

This is actually good news.

[ixion]

2. Kill the Bill

n/t

[bc3000]

3. FU Nelson! No more compromise on womens' health and rights

Many people have fought hard in the past for the rights women have now. We can't throw away their work now in order to pass a handout to insurance companies.

Single payer via budget reconciliation. Medicare for all. It's the only real option.

[leveymg]

4. A blanket of clean snow over its grave. Fitting end to it. Just do Reconciliation next year.

Screw Ben Nelson and the other holdouts. They can join the GOP if they don't like it. Just move everything through the Senate like the Repugs did - at least they were successful at moving legislation.

[depakid]

7. EXACTLY

Doing so would have overwhelming popular support- and given the disgraceful behavior of the US Senate, arguments to the contrary would fall on deaf ears.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

9. if it dies i don't think it will be back next year

or the year after that, or the year after that, or the year after that, or the year after that, etc etc etc

[global1]

5. No Pun Intended - But This Snowstorm Could Give The Dems & Harrry Reid Cover.......

so they can blame 'mother nature' for not getting this out of the Senate before Christmas.

[jasonberlin]

6. Think we gotta pass it...

I'm SOOO damn frustrated with Obama - and filled with undying fury at Lieberman - but I do believe what Bill Clinton and Axelrod are saying - that this bill should pass.

We can make it better through reconciliation later. But it's taken SO long to get to this point with the legislation that if we start now from scratch with reconciliation it could take another few months - and the political will could peter out, and senators will have to go into campaign mode, and chances of total failure will rise exponentially.

The real thing right now is HOW to pass the bill? Now that we punched out some of the bill's teeth, we have Liebershit's vote - but NELSON is now sounding like he's a definite NO vote. Jesus Christ.

[SandWalker1984]

8. Apparently even God has a negative opinion about this bill

20 inches of snow predicted to fall on Congress. Gee, one would think that God doesn't want Congress to pass this piece of fascist, corporate garbage.

[Jamastiene]

10. Now, THAT should give them pause.

If EVEN GOD is against it.

[BlueIdaho]

11. I hope they get snowed in

long enough to come to their senses.

[malletgirl02]

12. DC

You know, other people than politicians live in the DC area right? This is why I hate coming to this board sometimes. Pretty much all those asshole politicians come from some other area in this country.

[truthisfreedom]

13. I think it should pass in this form and then be amended later as it's analyzed

By the press and others.