Looks to me like the most important person in the HCR debate now is Nancy.

[ThomWV]

The Speaker of the House will now shoulder the burden of strongarming the conferees who will hash out a bill.

Home team is down, bases are loaded, Nancy is up.

I have great faith in that good woman.

[livetohike]

1. Me too.

:-) She'll get it all together and on time. I have faith in her.

[coti]

2. Better make some BIG changes in conference- if they even have one. nt

[cali]

10. they can't or Nelson will withdraw his support and filibuster.

[FLAprogressive]

3. She'll cave as usual.

[Myrina]

6. yep, and issue a mealymouth statement that 'she tried, but' ...

yawn. its all getting so tiring.

[kenny blankenship]

7. That should the Democratic Party's official motto:

"We tried, but..."

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. She can be as strong as the resolve of the House Pro-Choice & Progressive Caucus'

They can provide the steel she'll need for her backbone. Her pull will be determined by which House is more likely to reject attempts to move a compromise away from the bill that came out of that Chamber in the first place. If A majority of House Democrats would vote for a bill close to the Senate version, and Lieberman or Nelso threatens to filibuster a bill close to the House version, the Senate version would prevail.

[ThomWV]

8. I don't think a bill coming out of Conference can be filibustered - up or down.

Not positive on that but I think its up or down once a bill comes out of Conference. The bill can't be further amended so there's really nothing left to debate.

[Tom Rinaldo]

9. I'm rather certain it can be filibustered

just not amended.

[cali]

11. I think you're wrong about that.

[ThomWV]

12. You may very well be right. Got any idea where we can find out?

[ThomWV]

13. I think I may have just found out how it works - we're both sort of right

I'm sorry, I didn't copy the link, but I just googled the question and it sent me to a site that sort of explained it. The best I could tell it works like this. It goes back to each chamber for an up or down vote. If that vote fails in either chamber then it goes back to regular process, where it might be dropped, or it might be amended, or whatever, but first its Yea or Nay, and then if Nay it can be amended and once again subject to end of debate rules in the Senate, which of course would make the newly amended verson subject to fillibuster..

[madrchsod]

5. obey is on board..

are their any other chairpersons willing to kill the rats in the senate bill?