The Senate this morning voted to pass Majority Leader Harry Reid’s Health Care Reform bill… A.K.A. the single biggest crap sandwich ever foisted on Americans. The vote was 60-39 entirely along party lines with all the Democrats voting for it and Republicans voting against it:
In a vote resonating with history, Senate Democrats early Christmas Eve morning passed their version of health care reform, advancing the issue further than ever before in the nation’s history and setting up a bruising stretch-run to get a final bill to President Obama next year.
“It’s about people, it’s about life and death in America. It’s a question of morality, of right and wrong,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. “It’s about human suffering, and given the change to relieve this suffering, we must take this chance.”
The party-line 60-39 vote is the midway point for the bill. It must now be reconciled with a very different House measure. Major sticking points remain, including how to treat federal payments for abortions, whether to force insurance companies to compete with a government-run public health plan and which taxes to raise to pay for the changes.
The good news is this turkey is still has hurdle or two to clear before becoming law, the bad news is I don’t think it matters… The Democrats have invested far to much time and political capital in jamming their so called reforms through Congress. If liberals in the House have to, they will roll over and vote for the Senate bill in toto. Never mind what the White House is saying Democrats in Congress can not let this, um, debate drag into February, or worse, March… The closer they get to election day the less likely passage becomes.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will do whatever they have to do to get health care reform through the House as quickly as possible… Even if that means bribing they’re caucus into voting for the Senate bill in toto.
Related
- What Doctors and Patients Have to Lose Under ObamaCare – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Wall Street Journal
- A Democrat’s view from the House: Senate bill isn’t health reform – Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, CNN.com
- Surprise! Gaming CBO rules masks how healthcare reform may actually make deficit worse – James Pethokoukis, Reuters
- Senate passes Reid bill, 60-39 – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air