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Health Care Bill Goes to the Senate Floor

Posted by KATHY KATTENBURG in Breaking News, Health, Politics, Society.
Nov 21st, 2009 | Comments

My computer is more than usually slow tonight (and that’s saying a lot), so probably the whole world knows this by now, but the Democrats just achieved cloture on health care reform. They got the 60 votes they needed, including all the conservative Democrats whose votes were in question, and including Joe Lieberman.

All Democrats and Independents voted Yes. All Republicans voted No.

Max Baucus flew in from Montana, where his mother is apparently very ill, to vote Yes. That deserves great respect and thanks, and my strongest hopes go to Sen. Baucus and his family for his mom’s recovery.

Debate will begin on the Senate floor the first day at work after Thanksgiving break.

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keelaay

Last I checked this bill has a public option and Lieberman voted for cloture. He caught tons of shit (deservedly IMHO) on this blog and got tons of press for declaring he would vote against. Why did he have (another) change of heart? and... interesting to see so little coverage of his vote now.

Patrick E

Actually several senators who voted for cloture to *start* debate have made it clear they will vote against cloture to *end* debate as well as any subsequent bill should it contain a public option.

Remember this is only vote #1. They still need to vote to end debate (cloture) and then when the conference bill comes back they have the same issue.

At least that is my understanding based on the current Senate rules (and per Huffington Post comments, which presumably would not be biased to the right)

adelinesdad

Keelaay, there are two cloture votes--one to begin debate and the other to end it. Lierberman said he would vote for the first one but not the second, at least not for the bill in its current form: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/lieber...

"What I said this morning and what I've said to Senator Reid is that I'm inclined to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to a debate on health care reform, because I believe we need to have a debate on health care reform and I hope to be in a position to vote yes on health care reform. But, I've also said that if the current proposal remains as it is unamended, before the final vote on the floor, that I will not vote for cloture."

So, the Lieberman vote was not news.

keelaay

OK. Makes sense. Then he remains, IMHO, an asshole. But at least consistently an asshole. (sorry for the profanity, but for Lieberman, hard for me to find anything else...)

Leonidas

I see nothing wrong with opening the debate, thats not where to draw the battle lines.

dduck12

Takes one to know one.

keelaay

Ouch... that really hurts.

keelaay

I figured it would draw a response. Ouch, that really hurts. I remember that dig from junior high school!! I wonder how Pee Wee Herman would respond?

"I know are you are but what am I? I know you are but what am I? I know you are but what am I? Infinity!!"

kathykattenburg

I realize all that, Patrick, but none of those further votes would have been possible if the entire process had ended on Sat. night.

kathykattenburg

Please. That's not what Lieberman said before the vote. He's a liar. He said at least 3 or 4 times that he planned to "use his power as the 60th vote" to stop the bill from getting to the Senate floor, if it had a public option. Now he's saying he was talking about the final vote? Give me a break. That is simply not true.

adelinesdad

"That's not what Lieberman said before the vote... Now he's saying he was talking about the final vote?"

The link I provided was from October 27th.

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