If no Republicans vote for this...

[atomic-fly]

If no Republicans vote for this bill(HCR), then why did the Democrats
take out the meaningful changes!

As is, this bill stinks.

[Richardo]

1. Changes were not made for GOP votes

Pay attention. Jesus.

[MineralMan]

2. Haven't been reading the news?

It got modified to placate about six Democratic Senators. All of them need to be replaced the next time they run. That is our chore in the next election cycles. Replace all conservative Democrats with progressives and defeat as many Republicans as possible, replacing them with progressive Democrats.

There's your job for the next six years. Turn to!

[Richardo]

3. You're not going to replace conservative Democats with progressives

Why do you think there aren't progressives in those seats NOW?

You blue-state utopians should try living in a GOP stronghold for a while. There is not ONE Democrat, conservative OR progressive, holding a statewide office in Texas.

[ROakes1019]

5. so true

Here in Mississippi, I watched a town hall with Gene Taylor, from south MS, in which he almost pleadingly professed he would never support a public option, etc. Bennie Thompson, on the hand, can be very liberal; he represents a large Dem constituency.

[MineralMan]

6. No, I'm not going to do it. It's up to the people in those states to

do it. As for blue-state utopians, Minnesota almost had Norm Coleman as our Senator. How does that sound to you. The reason we don't have him is that a helluva lot of people worked their asses off. It almost didn't work.

Saying "you can't" is the same thing as saying "you won't." Screw that.

[Richardo]

7. Ooooo one Republican. The state of Humphrey, Mondale, Wellstone, Franken...

...you guys DID work your asses off, and well-done. But Minnesota has a progressive history few other states can match.

And Dems ARE working hard in Texas, and making some inroads in the cities, but it's not as if the populace is pre-disposed to the progressive platform. Texas is all about business, and making things easy for business, and attacting business. The population is an 'at-will' workforce for business. And that's it. It's a very uphill battle, against many decades of ingrained 'business first' attitudes.

[MineralMan]

10. And we also have Pawlenty and had Norm Coleman.

Minnesota is more equally divided than you think. Many of our elections are very close, and Republicans can, and do, win here. Fortunately, we do have a core of progressives here who are willing to put in the long hours and hard work needed to educate voters and get them to the polls.

You're poo-pooing that effort by saying "Ooooo one Republican." Our Governor is another one, and he appears to be trying, although futilely, to run for President. We had Norm Coleman in the seat that Franken now holds.

Texas, like lots of other states, also elects people from both parties. Right now, we need it to elect more Democrats. That's all it is.

Minnesota is far from a lock into liberal positions and candidates. It was, at one time, but no longer. Every race is hard. Franken is there, but might not have been. Very close. So close that it took six months to finally seat him.

Don't assume that Democrats have a lock on Minnesota. It simply isn't true.

[mmonk]

4. This is a contest between a party that is for privatization with subsidies

against a party for privatization without subsidies. It is all directionally created as an end game to defund those government programs such as medicare, medicaid, social security, etc. in the long run and stop any movement in expansion in those areas. This is my opinion though it is one that has been formed by watching their actions and rhetoric.

[aaronbav]

9. mmonk - I agree - I think you are 100% correct n/t

[Johonny]

8. If Republicans were voting for it

then a handful of Dem senators would of had no power. That's what is wrong with the senate right now. 40 % of the senate isn't even legislating. The senate rules don't work when 40 % of the senate take their ball and go home.

[Warren Stupidity]

11. Joe Schmuck. Been Greedy Nelson Max Because ....

Note that none of the hostage takers are Republicans. All the real Republicans were lockstep NO! The two women from Maine are fence straddlers who will probably stick with their party unless they don't.

[laughingliberal]

12. That was the part that made it so obvious

Even after every Republican had asserted that they would not vote for the bill no matter what was in it, the president still talked 'bipartisanship.' No one is that stupid. The alleged dedication to bipartisanship after all hope of achieving it was gone was the cover to pass this bill.

Or, I suppose we could define bipartisanship as passing Republican style giveaways to the wealthy with all Democratic votes bipartisan.

[depakid]

13. When this turns out to be an utter and complete disaster

Republicans will say "we told you so" and the general public will ignore the fact that their policies would be comparable at best and likely much worse- focusing instead on the fact their party "didn't do THIS to them."