Roland Burris, yesterday:
Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) is backing away from threats to block the health care bill because it lacks a public option.
"We'll see what it is, but what the situation is now is the realization that we can't kill the bill," Burris told POLITICO. "That's the realization."
"We can't kill the bill" is a crystal clear statement of Roland Burris's intentions.
Russ Feingold, about eleven hours ago:
Senator Russ Feingold, the anti-war Wisconsin Democrat, was the key for Democrats after he agreed to vote for the measure, citing Republican tactics to hold the Pentagon money hostage in the fight over health care. His initial resistance left Democrats one vote short and his colleagues cheered him when he announced his reversal in a closed-door party meeting Thursday evening.
"I am against continued funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Mr. Feingold, who was personally encouraged by President Obama to vote with the party. "But it became apparent that this was really an effort to slow down a bill they were going to vote for anyway to destroy health care and that is not something I wanted to see happen."
Feingold is willing to vote for cloture on funding for two wars he opposes in order to prevent the health insurance bill from being blocked. Again, this leaves no doubt that he will vote for cloture on the health insurance bill, too.
Finally, two days ago Bernie Sanders withdrew his single-payer amendment to prevent Republican "stalling":
"I really do appreciate [Senator Coburn's] desire to make the American people know this through 10 or 12 or 14 hours of the reading, but I think he may have overdone it a little bit. But you know this is nothing more than an ongoing, stalling tactic on the part of the Republicans."
Why should Bernie Sanders care about stalling tactics if he currently intends to vote against cloture? Apparently, because Harry Reid told him to care:
Nearly three hours and 139 pages later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., surrendered. He waved Sanders into the cloakroom. Sanders emerged on the Senate floor minutes later and withdrew his amendment calling for government-run health care.
"This is nothing more than an ongoing stalling tactic on the part of the Republicans," Sanders complained of Coburn's stunt.
That sure doesn't sound like someone who will defy the leadership on the overall bill. Further, keep in mind that earlier in the year Sanders was trying to organize all Democratic Senators to vote for cloture on the health care bill.
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There will be no left-wing filibuster of the health care bill in the Senate. Also, good luck running left-wing primary challenges against Feingold or Sanders for not doing so--you will lose by at least 80%-20%, with what little support your candidate receives coming from the right-wing of the party.
The lefties out there who want to defeat the health insurance bill should start working with Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman. Of course, supporting them will only result in more hostage taking, such as stripping out help for low-income people on Medicaid, sending women's health backward on Stupak, and support for the elderly disabled on Ted Kennedy's CLASS act. And the bill will pass even then.
The only hope for improving the bill will be through a conference committee in the House. In that chamber, a broad swath of members have revolted, including many of Rahm Emanuel and Steny Hoyer's "untouchables," and are demanding a conference committee. I confirmed with a White House last night that a conference committee is now likely (second question on this audio file).
I don't know what improvement can be made in the conference committee, especially with several members of the Democratic Senator caucus not operating in good faith. At this point, however, it is the only way. |
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