The drama-rama continues over the Senate’s Obamacare bill. President Obama promised an open process in crafting a health care bill, but it has been done mostly in secret and changes hourly.
President Obama’s henchmen are trying to stave off defections from the Left, which is meltdown over their beloved “public-option" being pulled. Uber-leftist Howard Dean is leading the charge to have the Democrats start over again.
As of the afternoon of December 17, it doesn’t appear that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has 60 votes to assure passage of his plan to nationalize our health care system.
Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) has said today that he will not vote for the bill because it provides a funding mechanism for abortion. Language proposed by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) on abortion funding would segregate private funds that cover abortion from public subsidies for health insurance. The language still provides funding for abortion.
TVC issued a press release today praising Sen. Nelson for sticking to his guns. We wish the same could be said for Senator Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pennsylvania) who either sold out or granted a long-term lease on his family’s pro-life reputation to provide cover for abortion activists in the Senate leadership.
Sen. Reid has created an artificial deadline for passage of this massive takeover of our health care system before Christmas.
Republicans are doing whatever they can to defeat this socialist plan. “We want to do what we can to defeat the bill. We are going to do everything we can in terms of the rights we have to stop the bill from passing,” said Republican Senator John Thune (SD).
Republican Senator Tom Coburn (OK) has stated: “There will be several more attempts to derail this bill from a parliamentary standpoint by me.”
In addition, there is much confusion over how much the bill will cost because the text seems to change every hour or so as Reid tries to bribe more Senators to vote with him. The last figure thrown around was $2.5 trillion, but the eventual cost could be even higher.
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) admitted on the Senate floor yesterday that it is unlikely that any Senator will read what’s in the Obama/Reid health care bill or the amendments being added to it.
Baucus refused to agree with Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) that every Senator should certify to his constituents that he or she has read the bill. Baucus kept getting off topic by saying that he can’t guarantee that Senators will understand the bill, but that wasn’t what Coburn was asking for. Coburn wants Senators to read what they’re voting on. “This seems like a simple enough request, but Baucus didn’t seem to understand the concept,” said TVC Executive Andrea Lafferty.
Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), the socialist had offered a 700-page amendment to Reid’s bill and Coburn asked that the entire amendment be read on the Senate floor so everyone would know what was in it. After three hours, Sanders withdrew his amendment and claimed that the Republicans were trying to undermine the effort to reform health care.
Senator Coburn pointed out that no one in the Senate knows what’s in Reid’s bill except Reid, his staff and a few people at the White House.
“The drama continues and the situation changes by the minute. It is possible that an entirely new socialist bill is going to be offered within the next 48 hours, and it is unlikely that a Senator will actually have the time to read it before Reid forces a vote on it,” said Lafferty. “This process is dishonest and Reid is doing everything he can to nationalize our health care system.”
Don’t Know What’s In Bill
Democrats who are pushing for passage of the Reid bill in the Senate have admitted they have no clue what’s in the bill. Here are a few samples of their recent comments:
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D-IN): “We're All Being Urged To Vote For Something And We Don't Know The Details Of What's In It.” (“Obama Might Not Get Health Care Overhaul For Christmas,” McClatchy, 12/15/09)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “I Would Say To The Senator From Arizona, That I’m In The Dark Almost As Much As He Is. And I’m In The Leadership.” (Sen. Dick Durbin, Floor Remarks, 12/11/09)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “I Can’t Say What There Is, Because We’re Not Allowed To Talk About What’s Submitted To CBO.” (“Wary Senators Await CBO Report,” CQ, 12/13/09)
SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL): “I Don’t Know What The Deal Is.” (“Senate Democrats Largely Support Health-Care Deal That Drops Public Option,” The Washington Post, 12/10/09)
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA): “There’s No Specific Compromise. There Were Discussions. … Until The Package That Was Sent Is Scored, We Really Don’t Even Know What’s In It.” (“Confusion Over ‘Deal’ Continues,” Roll Call, 12/10/09)
SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): “Any Big Agreement Is Progress … Even If We Do Not Know Any Of The Details.” (“Senate Democrats See Room For Hope On Health Care Bill,” The New York Times, 12/10/09)
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): “There Was No Explanation. It Was Sort Of Go Team, Go.” (“Senate Democrats See Room For Hope On Health Care Bill,” The New York Times, 12/10/09)
SEN. BEN NELSON (D-NE): “General Concepts, But Nothing Very Specific At All.” (“Senate Democrats See Room For Hope On Health Care Bill,” The New York Times, 12/10/09)
TAKE ACTION: Just say NO to government-run health care and urge your two U.S. Senators to vote NO on any plan that will nationalize health care, provide unprecedented federal abortion funding or force Americans to get health insurance.
