Never mind that it is the provision of a public option that makes the Senate bill save more money in the budget than it costs.

It would be nice if one day [insert name of interviewer] would point this out to Holy Joe or any given Republican.

Yes, it would be nice.

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Of course a reconciliation bill could pass the House. We just saw a health care bill pass yesterday. Take out Stupak and it would still pass.

You are overestimating the implications of the close vote. Once Pelosi got 218, she gave everyone else a free pass to vote no. As Josh Marshall noted yesterday, this is exactly how Clinton's 1993 budget passed.

It's lame that these conservative Dems are so weak-kneed that they don't see the value in being part of the solution (and think they will be rewarded for kicking Dems in the face), but whatever. Pelosi was happy to get two extra votes but she only needed 218. If the bill had needed 228, she would have rounded them up.

So yes, a reconciled bill could pass the House. Obama will not let this fail, period.

Breaking out the champagne was thus premature. Lieberman, one would gather, is in his last term as Senator from CT. Just as well, since he has not been a Democrat for some time.

So how will Reid handle this spoiler; can one person actually wield that much power?

did I see a link here, or somewhere else, as to some newspaper deciding to not license (most?) Associated Press content?  Seems like they were going to still use AP sports data, but not much else.  And teh google isn't helping me figure out which newspaper this could have been.

Reid will have to withdraw the bill

Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. J.K. Galbraith

oops.

1994 all over again. That never saw the Senate floor either.

Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. J.K. Galbraith

i fully understand the need for hc reform. i fully understand that in almost every single poll taken, hc reform has far outpacced any and all gop proposals.
 i also understand that in our form of brilliantly constructed government, we, the people, send "Representatives" to our congress to represent us. so whats the problem? either they represent us or we get rid of them. now, in the meantime, before we ccan legally get rid of them, they can act in ways that goes against their constituencies. and here is the rub. because of greed, those representatives that have chosen to not follow their constituents positions have chosen to act in a manner that will potentially cause great harm to their constituents.Thus, it appears that we, the constituents are f*8cked. it is at this moment that we, the people, have to stand up and let our leaders know that these pieces of sh*t that refuse to follow their instructions will be punished as severely as the law allows. if it apparently ok for the teabagging morons to interfere with the running of the government then, god damnit we can show the scumbags that support them that they are going to feel our wrath. i find it impossible to believe that 4000 pieces of ignorant feces cannot be overwhelmed by at least a small percentage of concerned and involved citizens.
 we defeated these useles, ignorant fools in nov of 08. we kicked their asses. and i guess they need another ass kicking. someone has to call out the forces of good. a lying piece of shit like lieberman deserves to be stripped of everything. and the constituents that voted for him should also feel the anger of their stupidity. we must act. and we must act now!  

Reid will have to withdraw the bill and introduce Snowe's trigger as the base bill, or he will have to give up entirely and go to reconciliation.

Or he can let the damn filibuster run. Let lieberman and the republicans bring the government to a halt and pay the price for it. It seriously pisses me off that this option is never discussed in the general media or on sites like this one. If there is a reason letting the filibuster run cannot work, I'd like to finally hear it. I've been asking for months and have never gotten more than content-free dismissals.

If this was a matter of ideology or voting with constituents the Dem leadership could make some argument about protecting vulnerable Dems and allowing them to vote their "conscience". But it isn't It is a matter of in-your-face, outright corruption, of selling out to the highest bidder. If the leaders protect that they are as corrupt as the healthcare deniers. That is the message we should be sending them: let the filibuster run or go down with Lieberman and the GOP.

FDR's response to progressive demands: "I agree. Now go out and make me do it."

I even suspect that after all this Obama and others still don't regret having supported Lieberman and letting Ned Lamont twist in the wind. Is it so perposterous that they'll let Lieberman keep his committee appointments after he attempts/succeeds to scuttle health care reform? It's so horrible that we need to contemplate the very distinct possibiilty of this happening. No mere mortal outside the D.C. stronghold can fathom their motives. Nor can he or she put their trust in them. They have the power of life and death over us and many seem to get off on playing with it.

I wonder if Harry Reid is trying to work a deal with a Republican somewhere (other than Snowe) to vote with the Dems on HCR filibusters. When he talks about Joe Lieberman being "the least of my worries" it makes me wonder if there's something else going on.

I recall someone said he opposed the thing even with a trigger. So it's likely he just wants no reform.

________
The Raptor of Spain: A Webserial
From Muslim Prince to Christian King: An Alternate History

I see no reason to get spooked. We aren't out of the woods, but big bad Joe isn't so scary.

Enough with the can'ts. Every time I turn around, some self-appointed "realist" is telling me what can't be done, what won't happen, what isn't possible.

Bullshit.

This is a democracy, its numerous warts notwithstanding. If the majority of the people decide that three-quarters of the federal budget will go to building lime-green pyramids in the Arizona desert and are prepared to insist on it until hell freezes over, then by God, we will build lime-green pyramids in the Arizona desert. Health care reform is possible, can happen, and, if we have enough vertebrae to go around, will happen.

If we can let approximately 120 Americans die every single fucking day to enrich insurance companies -- which is certainly more absurd than building lime-green pyramids in the Arizona desert -- then we can stop letting them die, too.

We can also sit around telling ourselves that this is our last chance of reform for a generation, that the general public will lose interest, yada yada yada. Bullshit. If we are prepared to keep the pressure up, day after day, until we get what we want, we will. We can. It is possible. And if this president or that congressfucker won't do it, I hear there are fresh elections coming up in a couple of years.

So enough with the gloomy realism. The field of possibility is wider than we can possibly imagine. Any suggestion to the contrary has been fed to us by the small handful of greedy assholes who benefit from the current state of affairs. That suggestion is a lie. Don't fall for it. Pick your battles, but when you find one worth fighting, don't stop until you win.

My prediction.
Reid will show him the toilet stall that will be his new office, Rahm will put him on the phone with the Electric Boat dockyard about the President's intention to move construction to LA. HRC will offer him a post in the state department.
He will fold.

Can the Dems eliminate the 'filibuster' mid session?

Why is everyone surprised?   When you want compromise so much that you are willing to throw your constituents and allies under the bus.  When conservatives are rewarded and progressives are ignored.  When you are so desperate to compromise to the point you stand for nothing, then nothing is damn well what you are going to get.

Just picture those republicans celebrating when they manage to insure millions stay without healthcare