Sneaky Sunday Senate liveblog, open thread; the building backlash against Ben Nelson; Harkin: Do it for Teddy K!; McConnell: “It is not too late” to kill it; Reid: People are dyyyying! “We are reshaping the nation;” cloture motion passes, 60-40
If you are a normal person, today was a day for family, faith, football, and holiday get-togethers.
While you’ve been busy this Sunday before Christmas, the Senate has been hurtling toward a cloture vote on Demcare.
As I noted early this morning, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the Reid-Baucus-Dodd-Harkin amendment at 1:00am Eastern this morning.
GOP Sen. John Thune is now on the floor shining light on all the Democrats’ broken promises. RedState’s Dan Perrin outlines the extraordinary measures needed to kill the bill.
I’ll be up liveblogging through the cloture vote.
Registered commenters: Feel free to comment in this open thread.
***
I noted this in my lead story thread, but I’ll repeat it here: CBO now says Nelson’s Cornhusker Kickback will cost $100 million for Nebraska. Vermont and Massachusetts will also benefit from similar deals. Combined, the three-state kickback will cost taxpayers $1.2 billion over 10 years.
A full rundown of all the Cash for Cloture deals here.
Can we extend this, please: “Federal Government Closed on Monday.”
On Sunday morning, I posted Nebraska Dr. Becky Hollibaugh’s letter roasting her sellout Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson.
She is not alone:
It was the concern of Nebraska’s Republican governor over expanded Medicaid costs in the proposed Senate health care overhaul bill that led to a compromise to cover his state’s estimated $45 million share over a decade, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson said Sunday.
Gov. Dave Heineman “contacted me and he said this is another unfunded federal mandate and it’s going to stress the state budget, and I agreed with him,” said the Nebraska Democrat, who was himself a Nebraska governor in the 1990s. “I said to the leader and others that this is something that has to be fixed. I didn’t participate in the way it was fixed.”
But Heineman expressed anything but gratitude, saying he had nothing to do with the compromise and calling the overhaul bill “bad news for Nebraska and bad news for America.”
“Nebraskans did not ask for a special deal, only a fair deal,” Heineman said in a statement Sunday.
In response, Nelson fired off a letter Sunday to Heineman saying he’s prepared to ask that the provision covering Nebraska’s Medicaid share “be removed from the amendment in conference, if it is your desire.”
The criticism is only a taste of what Nelson has received since announcing Saturday that he would become the 60th vote needed to advance the landmark legislation.
There’s now a website: Give Ben the Boot!
***
11:00pm Eastern. Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin is going through the litany of new special-interest centers and institutes — for women, minority health, etc., etc., etc — that will be created under Demcare. He’s Big Santa rummaging through an endless sack of government goodies. Ho, ho, ho.
Cardin actually referred to “children under the age of 26.”
11:12pm Eastern. Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida is complaining that GOP criticisms of the behemoth health care bill are too specific — yes, too specific — and that too-specific criticisms “miss the larger picture” of Demcare.
If only the critics would stop reading the bill and citing specific sections, then the Democrat majority could ram it down our throats so much easier!
Fla. Sen. Nelson is bashing insurance companies.
Sen. Nelson, meet your Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh and his “fat cat” insurance board member wife.
And meet health insurance/Big Pharma Democrats David Axelrod, Tom Daschle, Eric Holder, and Nancy DeParle.
12:00am Eastern. After a brief recess, the Senate is now back in session. Opened with prayers and pledge of allegiance. Senate chaplain prayed for legislators to act with wisdom.
Don’t tell Dick Durbin. He’s got issues with prayer.
Democrat Sen. Mark Udall will serve as chair. Time will be equally divided for an hour, with Majority Leader controlling the final 10 minutes and the Republican Leader controlling the 10 minutes immediately prior.
12:20pm Eastern. Sen. McCain must have had a Red Bull. He’s on the floor now roasting the payoffs and the backroom deals. The Democrats, he says, “will pay consequences. They should. They should.” Says all Republicans will unite against Demcare, go to town halls and senior centers. “We have just begun to fight.”
12:29pm Eastern. Sen. Harkin talks about those “kiddies” under 26 again. Crikey.
Now, he’s citing the bogus death-by-uninsurance statistics again and playing the murder card.
Oh, triple-crikey: Harkin invoking Teddy Kennedy. “Health care should be a right, not a privilege. It was his great dream.”
Harkin threatens: “This is not the end of health care reform. This is the beginning.”
I have no doubt. Of course it’s the Trojan Horse for single-payer.
12:35am Eastern. Sen. Cornyn asking about earmark disclosure. Chair is not aware of list. Dems continue their demagoguery with Chris Dodd, who is identified by AP tonight as the petitioner for a $100 million earmark stuffed into the manager’s amendment.
Dodd also invokes Teddy K.
12:42am Eastern. McConnell now on the floor. Assails the $100 million hospital earmark. Assails the Medicaid expansion subsidies. But he won’t name the names.
He needs a sip of McCain’s Red Bull.
12:53am Eastern. McConnell on his Dem opponents: “I don’t doubt for a moment their sincerity.” That’s the problem.
“This legislation will reshape the nation.”
McConnell pleading for one Democrat — “All it takes is one…one can stop it, or every single one will own it” — to kill the bill. My colleagues, it is not too late.”
Reid takes the floor and launches full-throttle into fear mode. PEOPLE ARE DYING. FLU. STROKE. SKIN CANCER. HEART CONDITION. THEY’RE DYING! Invokes the bogus murder-by-un-insurance stats again. More health care-as-a-right propaganda again.
1:09am Eastern. Here we go with the cloture vote. Senators voting from their desks.
There is no such thing as a “moderate” Democrat. Bayh, Lincoln, McCaskill, Ben Nelson, Webb all vote aye.
Final cloture vote: 60-40. (All 58 Dems plus two Independents – Lieberman and Sanders – voted yes. All Rs voted no.)
Cash for cloture worked.
***
Senate now recessed until noon Monday.
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Nothing good will come of this.
You did forget football in the afternoon and evening (spent watching on my younger sister’s/brother-in-law’s big screen). I could’ve lived without the football though as the Packers choked.
Yes, sorry for the oversight.
Just added!
Our U.S. “government” is broken and you can not trust the government any more than you can trust a thief who is robbing you.
Sam Brownback blasting the Ben Nelson abandonment of the Hyde Amendment. Bonus item – no conscience clauses, so Catholic hospitals could be forced to perform abortions.
When government is no longer responsive to the people it must be removed. I look forward to the removal.
Just turned on CSpan. First procedural vote not till 1 am? Have fun liveblogging.
For the open thread …
Record snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Global warming? Yeah right.
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
You repeat yourself.
You are redundant.
You say the same things over and over.
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
Sen. Cardin just said wants to provide insurance for “children under the age of 26.”
What?!
Harkin looks festive.
Actually, the government is already doing that for a number of our youth in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course those youth are called Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, though I doubt the Senator was talking about them.
“Could”? Try will.
Because another of Obama’s plans is to divide and conquer America’s religious images – and he’s doing a damn good job of it with the Catholic Church.
As with the recent gay marriage vote in DC, forcing Catholic institutions to do things contradictory to Catholic teaching will not win out. We will shut down and raze every hospital before we allow abortions to be performed therein. So when we no longer provide social services because the state has made it morally impossible for us to do so, they can shut down the churches wholesale because we aren’t contributing anything to the good of the state.
Bizarre that the only Democrat “voice of reason” is Howard Dean in his 12/17/09 commentary urging Senators to not vote for this bill. Of course, he cites all the wrong reasons for doing so, but who cares at this point?
There is one evil man. May he never come back here again. I detest him.
Thank you for including that article by Dan Perrin over at Red State. I hope you all participate! All it takes first is to get a single GOP Senator to:
OBJECT TO THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CONFEREES
That “forces two votes in the U.S. House, one vote to amend the Senate bill on the House floor, since the Senate bill likely cannot pass the House unamended, and will force another vote on final passage of the amended House bill.”
Do it tomorrow morning! Let’s make the left’s life miserable and FIGHT to stop this thing and kill it DEAD.
Makes you wonder where the Democrats are sleeping during the day (and who with).
Final passage of bill at 7pm Christmas Eve, if this goes as they planned. So this is all about giving themselves a present under the package of This is a Christmas present for all Americans. How symbolic. In an obscene sort of way.
sleep easy America. Harry and Barry know what ails the nation and they have just the cure. We may not think we want it, but once we get a taste we’ll all sing and rejoice the praises of the big liberal government.
Of course, they’ll say “holiday present for all Americans.” Christmas just sounds so…not inclusive.
I can tell you their sleeping habits most likely involve something with a closed lid and soil from Transylvania.
This is so disheartening. I have been watching Christmas movies on TV tonite and then the Survivor finale, rather than CSPAN. I can’t watch the destruction of the country I love on live tv. I am just SO ANGRY!!!!!!!!!
We have to flip both houses in 2010 by a large majority and hopefully remind Americans for the next 2 generations just how badly liberals can not be trusted with the keys to the Treasury. And to think we thought the Pubs spent too much under W!!!!
Day-by-Day on Ben’s sleepover.
Mark Steyn is also up late.
The $100 million university hospital mystery solved? The Senator Chris Dodd Hospital?
I like that some of Sen. Alexander’s comments that echoed mine from earlier tonight.
All Americans have the inalienable right to goods and services. That’s what we’re supposed to believe now. I want—no, I need—a pony, an oil change, and Action Comics #1 in mint condition.
Read the American people’s lips, Sen. Harkin:
NO
NO
NO
Durbin is such a dim bulb. Coburn did not say or mean we should pray one of the Democrats should not show up ever, only for one to not show up for the cloture vote.
Let’s pray one of those Senators will be too busy online searching in vain for one of those 3,800 jobs in and around Thomson for after their sorry butt gets voted out of office next year.
But you’re excluding 6% of Americans with this plan, guys. They’re gonna die!
Getting me an oil change is a moral imperative.
Let’s change what the definition of what an inalienable right is. Good grief.
Pony, oil change, Action Comics #1. Mint condition.
The NY Times that is just out on the web has a surprisingly good article about all the buried treasure in the bill. The NYT articles lays out who is the recipient of all this arcane language. On the subject of Ben Nelson, why did anyone think that this blowhard would ever vote against cloture? Nelson loves the attention and planned to whine and cry about all the spending in the bill, obtain a few phony concessions and then vote for cloture. The guy was. is and will always be a windbag. He had the audacity to say that if the reconciliation is not what he wants, he will vote against cloture. Of course, Nelson has no such intention of actually voting with the GOP but he knows how to play the game. In January, he will go through the whining about being fiscally conservative and will get on the Sunday programs and then will vote with his fellow Dems. Nobody should waste anytime on Ben Nelson or Mary Landreau or Evan Bayh.
Dodd invokes Ted Kennedy one more time…sheesh
I wonder how the Senators can debate a bill they have not even seen yet?
Cosmic!
Toss in another eighteen or so let’s do it for Teddy‘s before the hour is up. That’ll get us on your side.
Today, this seems an unlikely event. But it seems that these ‘leaders’ are so removed from the constitution that they do not know what will cause a revolution in this country.
For example, while many will simply pay for government abortions, how likely is it that a non-violent tax revolt by pro-life people could occur? Seems like this kind of behavior, tied to the unconstitutional mandates, is very likely going to become a major flash point. After they throw the first few in jail, they will find themselves looking at millions in opposition to this government. This would effectively end the IRS.
Politicians go to jail if they buy votes from the public. Why don’t the go to jail for buying votes from each other?
Has anyone seen the bill that the Senate is voting on tonight?
So that was our last, best hope?
Zzz…
Ha, timely slip. Got your special interests confused, Sen. Reid?
Nobody will see the Bill they are voting on tonight, because we have now lost control of our Government..
They don’t care what we think any more. In about a year, that will be painfully evident to almost everyone in the country.
Right now, people are still holding out hope that elections will change it, but what really needs to happen, is that the backlog of politicians who need to be arrested & prosecuted for crimes of Treason, Perjury, & Extortion (to name a few) needs to be caught up.
There need to be some arrests made..
Absolutely nothing that Reid has said is true. He’s a walking, talking lie.
The GOP is responsible for the timing of this vote, says Reid. They’re responsible for the snow in Copenhagen, too.
SHUT UP REID YOU IGNORANT POMPOUS…..
Reid. What an idiot.
Of COURSE Dingy Harry is dragging it out. My watch has 0:07, and since it’s Central, it’s 1:07 on the East Coast.
Well that was a pot full of crock.
I’m hearing many voices rising up in protest of the things that are being done and the way they are getting done in Washington D.C. these days.
My questions to you are: Why is this so surprising to you? How did you think these things got done? Maybe its time to take off the blinders of the naiveté of the high school civics and history books.
This has been the modus operandi of D.C. for centuries. This is not Mr. Smith or Davy Crocket going to Washington.
The only difference is that the corruption of the last year is being done the Chicago way—on the front page of the dailies, in full view on the steps of the White House and Congress buildings, in your face and I don’t give a damn ‘cause I’m from Chicago and I’ll sell my stuff in dime bags or keys or fly in planeloads when and where I want and you can’t do nothin‘bout it.
The scary thing to me is that it hasn’t gotten any of the media stirred up or, even worse, the entrenched Republicans. Are they all complicit? Mmm, you know what they say about the pot and the kettle.
McConnell BLEW it when he said that the Democrats are “serious” in their convictions. What convictions? The United States Constitution?
First Maine Wonder Twin (Collins) – No.
How much more can we as a nation take from these pieces of crap in our government?
Loser…er, Lieberman and Lincoln’s purchases official with ayes.
Almost to Nelson.
I really really detest these people.
So Reid, if people will DIE without your masterful plan, why not have it start immediately? Why the wait until 2014? Oh that’s right. Because you needed to scam the numbers to make your scheme look like it’s good for the economy.
Creeps.
And the purchase of Ben Nelson now official – aye.
Second Maine Wonder Twin (Snowe) – no.
Scottish Law Specter – aye.
Straight party-line 60-40. As the boss just Tweeted, “No such thing as a ‘moderate’ Democrat.”
Good by Webb and Warner of Virginia, their vote for this along party lines will insure their departure from the senate!
Virginians will work to oust these two, they could care less about the people of Virginia.
I am SOOOO going to have to steal that.
This is an example of my favorite part of the fecklessness of the GOP, in part. When they have something of a majority, we get stuff like the “Gang of 14″; when the Dems have the majority, we get sneaky, desperate acts at 1:00 AM that all the GOP can do is say, “if only one of the other side would compromise!”
At least the
democratcommunists party owns this. It’s their baby. Let’s see how they handle the upcoming conference committees.Oh, and those so-called “moderates” will all vote NO on the final passage. Classic CYA.
And there we have it…
http://bit.ly/8AIiqn
Ain’t it GRAND? I’m gonna puke
Oh and I don’t think Ben Nelson much cares. He’ll be taken care of ala Tom Daschle if he’s “sent packing.”
I am sickened by this health “care” corruption….literally.
Byron York: “Who’s responsible for the Senate’s middle-of-the-night vote?“
I managed to get to the 5th day of “The 12 Days of PlaceboCare”, but I’m too tired/depressed to do the other 7.
So far, I’ve got…
- All the nation’s gold
- Forty Republicans’ Sunday
- Three trillion dollars
- Two Senators’ bribed votes
- My right to not pay for your health care.
On December 20th, 2009 at 11:15 pm, MacEamonn said:
I beg to differ with you. Those are definitely not ‘children’ 26 years of age or not. They are, men and women who are generally responsible for more lives and property than any one of their peers in the civilian communities of the US. They will make decisions usually the purview of men and women twice their calendar age. Upon those decisions in many cases hinge life or death. The average Corporal who is somewhere between 19 and 25 will often have responsibility for hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in assets and the lives (literally) of up to twelve other people. Where in civilian life will you find that? When I was in those combat zones all six times, they restored my faith in today’s youth when I no longer believed that the youth of today would have the spirit of America that sets us so far apart from any other country in the world. I saw coming from them selflessness, compassion and an essential goodness and willingness to sacrifice themselves for an ideal that I had thought heretofore was dying off throughout our country. But I was so very, very wrong. These men and women have earned your respect and the dignity of not being cast as ‘children’. They’ve kept me proud to be an American and provided me with great inspiration. These men and women are the future of this country and are hardly children.
Words fail to allow me in so brief a missive to describe just how literally awesome, inspiring and dedicated those Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen are. But if anyone is responsible for the modicum of success we’ve had in Iraq, or with counterbalancing the Taliban influence in Afghanistan, it is those very people you referred to as ‘children’. It is they who the people of those countries see and who give meaning to the ideals that we’ve tried to spread. Don’t refer to them as ‘children’ they are more adult than most in the Senate today will ever be if they live to be 100 years old.
In case you hadn’t noticed, she can out work you any day. And raise a family.
Methinks 2010 is going to make 1994 look like a dry run. Let’s just hope the GOP has the nerve to repeal this monster once they’re back in the driver’s seat.
I don’t understand how passing this thing so recklessly helps the dying if it goes into effect FOUR years from now — even though we’re paying for it (and then some) now.
Next on the platter for OB’s 2nd term, Universal Housing (not just apartments or flats — Houses with lawns and the works)
James Greenidge
Queens NY
1st on line for National Tax Strike
If they would fight terrorists and corruption like they fight the will of the American people, we might be a great nation. But that’s expecting a lot from a brood of corrupt, domestic terrorists to change their spots.
Ah. So this is how the Dems celebrate Stalin’s birthday – by forcing a measure for government to take over health care.
Where does the tax money go? For four years these vermin are going to collect taxes, where does it go?
Well we will be fundementally changing senate and congress in 2010!
By the way they keep invoking Teddy Kennedy, I would say they were sleeping with his rotting corpse.
It’s not like we didn’t know they were going to do this. I want to see the plan for reversing it. Now. GOP, if you want to win in 2010 and beyond, this better be the main plank in your platform.
Thanks, Miohelle. Funny how they always vote for important bills on weekends in the middle of the night? Transparency.
In response to Gov. Heineman’s criticism, Nelson could have responded that he was just doing what he thought was best for his constituents in Nebraska, but he didn’t. He threatened to take his toys and go home. That shows that he was never acting out of principle, all he was interested in was power.
Being the guy everyone was talking about and having the leadership fall all over themselves to win his vote must have been quite the ego boost. He’s just as much a petty thug as Obama.
I believe it will be in the same lock-box with our Social Security payments. You know, the one that ensures the funds can never be
usedplundered for other government vote buying programs.Of course. He is a Democrat.
Every single Democrat politician will always vote for the advance of collectivism in exchange for thirty pieces of silver.
After this travesty has so clearly unmasked the so-called “conservative Democrats,” anyone who ever votes for any Democrat ever again for any elected office of any kind is a damnable traitor.
I hate these people.
I am also not holding out much for 2010. There are still the die-hard dumbocrats who believe this administration and it’s thieves are doing a good job. I live in a county where the majority of people vote dumbocrat. I hear them embrace anything and everything dumbocrat. Doesn’t matter that they and the Rinos are selling us to communism. They love The Won. They still blame Bush. They are idiots.
Harry Reid’s claims that thousands of people will die because of our current health care services are moot (even if true) because the “plan” that he wishes to implement won’t take effect until 2013, so HE’S saying he wants to be responsible for millions of people dying because of inadequate health care.
ssnark,
I hope you were just using my post to make a point and not trying to lecture me. You should have noted I never used the words “child” or “children” in my post. That was intentional to call attention how stupid the Senator was in trying to equate children to young adualts, whether civilian or military.
I also think I might know something about “youth” and the military since I enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17 (July 1973) and was honorably discharged from active duty in Nov of 1982, having just turned 27 in Aug of that year. So most of my service was performed at or under the age of 26.
But of course as soon as the subject turns to abortion, then all of the sudden they’ll be talking about “women under the age of 18″.
Let it be remembered that THIS VOTE became
the death of the Democrat[ic Socialist] Party.
And let it be remembered that in order to achieve this vote, the Democrat[ic Socialists]s had to:
1) Steal an election in order to turn the loser, Al Franken, into a a seated Senator to become the 60th vote.
and
2) Change election law in MA after Teddy Kennedy’s death, so that they pick a Democratic replacement and seat him quickly in order to once again become the 60th vote for cloture. If they had not changed that law, they would not have reached 60 votes, because Scott Brown would not have voted for cloture.