Plan B for Health Care Reform

Now that two of the three Republicans Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) picked to negotiate with over health care (Sen. Michael Enzi and Sen. Chuck Grassley) have basically said they don’t want reform and are just trying to kill what they consider a bad bill, Democrats are looking at other options. One obvious one is to try to find a couple of other Republicans to negotiate with, but there are not likely to be many takers.

Then what? Using the reconciliation process is getting more attention, as it requires only 50 votes plus Joe Biden and cannot be filibustered. TPM has an interesting story on this option. In short, only bills with a major impact on the federal budget are allowed in reconciliation. So to qualify easily, the bill would need a robust public option that puts a lot of pressure on insurance companies and would lower health care costs. Liberals could go for that. The trouble is that conservative Democratic senators, such as Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), might bolt. If more than 10 Democrats and independents refused to sign on, the bill wouldn’t get the necessary 50 votes. But if the public option were weakened to get enough votes, it might not qualify for reconciliation.

continued on http://www.electoral-vote.com

What Happens When Fox News’ Twitter Account Gets Hijacked?

Foreign War Spending Up: great society spending down.

True, he doesn’t seem a bit like Lyndon Johnson, but the way he’s headed on Afghanistan, Barack Obama is threatened with a quagmire that could bog down his presidency. LBJ also had a progressive agenda in mind, beginning with his war on poverty, but it was soon overwhelmed by the cost and divisiveness engendered by a meaningless, and seemingly endless, war in Vietnam.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/20090901_obamas_meaningless_war/

Ten Democrats can abstain or vote against it and it will still be passed by the Democratic caucus, with the Vice President breaking the tie. But those moderate Dems MUST make it clear that they have demolished, obliterated and wiped out the filibuster in the 111th Congress. Either they work with the Dems or they don’t. If Baucus and his “centrist” Dem cronies won’t block the filibuster, what good are they in the caucus? Tell them to guarantee a filibuster-proof Congress or go join the other side– and lose his committee seat and whatever other penalties can be applied to Montana, including a cut in funding for Montana projects, wherever possible. Votes have consequences– for the constituents who send assholes to Washington and the assholes who constipate progress.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Spineless-Dems-or-a-Dem-Tr-by-Rob-Kall-090901-578.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-tsKPlDn7U&feature=related

Luurved it!