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While I have no reason to disagree with the widely held belief that Democrats now have the votes to pass the health care bill, I want to raise a brief point of order.
The group on the dais with Bishop Stupak moments ago were: Kaptur, Carney, Driehaus, Dahlkemper, Rahall, and Mollohan. If there was anyone else I didn’t see them. Kaptur and Carney were ALREADY built into the count as Yes votes. So if you add the five on stage associated with the deal to the Yes side, you’re still only at 213 votes for the bill.
It’s unclear where Marion Berry and Joe Donnelly are on this. Even if they both supported, that’d get you to 215 – one short of passage. Costello and Lipinski, I’m convinced, are No votes either way.
So then you’d need one of the remaining undecideds: Michaud, Sanchez, Cooper, Kanjorski, Boucher. Now, it’s likely they’d get one – Michaud is likely, for example – but what if Berry and Donnelly don’t agree to the bill?
I’m not giving bill-killers a glimmer of hope, but it should be worth seeing how 216 gets built. And this further underlines how ridiculous Stupak’s claim is that the Democratic leadership had the votes without him.
UPDATE: I’m not bothering to put up the whip count numbers because I do agree that this is over.
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Please put up the whip count numbers! I want to know who’s standing where, even if it is over.
How long before 10 conservative butthead Senators band together to demand another of the remaining few redeemable pieces of this legislation be scrapped? You know it’s coming…
Another question? Now that deem and pass is scrapped, is there any assurance to the House from Obama that he won’t sign the approved Senate bill into law unless the reconciliation fixes get through the Senate. It seems pretty clear that the Senate is all set up for mischief.
C-Span’s showing us some monkey shines the republicans are up to with a lot of “revise and extend my remarks, blah, blah, blah …”
What is this tactic?
That is for campaign purposes.
Okay.
Better that than a filibuster type obstruction.
Right?
Yes. They are eating time that is pre-designated.
The vote has long ceased to be about health care and instead is about the political life or death of Obama and Pelosi. It is tragic that a bill which will change the character of our nation (into one of dependency upon government handouts) will be allowed to pass on such a slim margin. For those of us who do not support such a massive government intrusion into our private lives–the fight is not over.
The delivery of health care clearly needs some changes, but to move in the direction of more government is exactly the wrong direction. It is neither moral nor practical, as time will eventually demonstrate.
A Pyhrric victory if there ever has been one.
Yikes: Stupak said that Reid letter only has 52 votes. That’s not a lot of breathing room
re: “The vote has long ceased to be about health care and instead is about the political life or death of Obama”
I agree. Ever since the primaries, it has been all about what is best for Obama. The base gets thrown overboard left and right because Obama must have a victory.
HCAN just sent me an invite to a “Thank-you” Event for Kanjorski next week to thank him for his support. Maybe they are just being hopeful?
Kanjo just announced he is a yes.
he would be 217 named votes in hand. This is over.