Night afo’ Crizzmus

Wus da night afo’ Crizzmus, and all thru da hood,
everybody be sleepin’ and da sleepin’ be good.

We hunged up our stockins, an hoped like all heck,
dat Obama gunna brang us our checks.
All of da family, was layin’ on da flo’,
my sister wif her gurlfriend, my brother wif some ho.

Ashtrays was all full, empty beer cans and all
when I heared such a fuss, I thunk….
“Sh’eet, must be da law”.

I pulled the sheet off da window and what I’ze could see,
I was spectin’ the sherrif, wif a warrent fo’ me.
But what did I see, made me say, “Lawd look ‘a dat!”
Dere was a huge watermelon, pulled by eight big-ass rats.

Now ovah da years, Santy Claws he be white,
but it looks like us brotha’s, got a black un’ tonight.
Faster than a poe’lice car, my homeboy he came,
and whupped up on dem rats, as he called dem by name.

On Biden, On Jessie, On Pelosi and Hillary Who,
On Fannie, On Freddie, On Ayers, and Slick Willy too.

Obama landed dat melon, right there in da street,
I knowed it fo’ sho’,  can you believe that Sheet?

Dat Santy didn’t need no chimley, he picked da lock on my do’,
an I sez to myself, “Son o’ bitch…he don did dis befo!”
He had a big bag, full of presents – at first I suspeck?
Wif “Air Jordans” and fake gold, to wear roun’ my neck.

But he left me no presents, just started stealin my shit.
He got my guns and my crack, and my new burglers kit.

Den, wif my shit in his bag, out da windo’ he flew,
I sho’ woulda shanked him, but he snagged my blade too!

He jumped back on dat melon, wif out even a hitch,
and waz gone in two seconds, da democrat sonofabitch.

So nex year I be hopin’, a white Santy we git,
’cause a black Santy Claws, just ain’t worf a shit!

Twas the weekend before Christmas and all though the country, 

All parents and children were hoping for a turn around in the economy

They stared at their paychecks with looks of fright,

How could they possibly afford presents to give out on Christmas night?

Our U.S Senators were snug in their taxpayer paid beds,

With visions, of Bailouts, Climate Change, and Healthcare reform dancing in there heads.

Harry Reid and Barrack Obama were talking on the phone with each other,

Plotting more ways to take away my hard earned dollars.

When out on the White House Lawn arose such a clatter,

The President walked out to see what was the matter.

Obama looked out on the lawn far and near,

And what he saws were Americans that felt anger and fear.

The moon light reflected the tears in their eyes.

As they chanted “Enough, Enough with your damn Lies!”

President Obama turn and said someone get me a phone,

He called Secret Service and said make these people go home.

The crowd left the White House frightened and dismayed,

But on they marched to the Capital full of rage.

They demanded that Congress listen to the people, not the puppet-master,

For it there is no doubt that this Health Care bill will be nothing but a disaster.

Vote Spector, Vote Lieberman, Vote Brown, Vote Nelson; vote yes on this bill,

President Obama shouted as he drove up to Capital Hill.

I am keeping score, so if you allow this to be undone,

The next time you run for office, I wish you luck on raising any funds.

Now that Christmas Eve is upon us the Senate has met

To pass a Healthcare Bill that no one could vet.

The Democrats waited with patience and glee

They finally had the votes pass this and flee

And now the President waits for the bills to merge

He hopes that this will result in an approval surge,

Little do any of these lawmakers realized what’s at hand

This is something that we will never let stand

Did they not listen this summer? The people asked

Or is they just don’t care enough to remember the past

The citizens of this country are tired and afraid,

The direction this government is taking us is clearly the wrong way.

Even with these actions all is not lost, and much is to gain,

People are rising up rather than staying on this crazy train.

They are coming together from all walks of life,

Because they understand who is causing this strife.

Rallies and Tea Parties have started all across this great nation, the people are now awake

Because despite our governments best effort we understand what is a stake

No longer will we take this government abuse of power.

Stakes are too high, and now we must fight for our rights this very hour

The ACLU and liberals can try to take our liberties and safety away,

But unlike politicians, the American people will fight this battle in every way.

Keep the Terrorist out of our nation we yell and scream,

Guantanamo Bay Cuba is where they need to be.

The Senate met under the cloak of night,

Because they know they are trampling on all our rights.

The Democrats thumbed their nose at all us all,

But come Election Day 2010 we will see who will fall

So on Christmas day let our message be heard on every radio and TV station,

The people will take back our power from this Obama-nation,

We are coming together again as one people; and this is a wonderful sight,

Merry Christmas to all, and GOD Bless us all on this solemn night!     

from YahooNews:

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama’s legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country’s history.

The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Vice President Joe Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted “yes.” Republicans unanimously voted “no.”

The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.

The Senate’s bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before Obama could sign a final bill in the new year. There are significant differences between the two measures but Democrats say they’ve come too far now to fail.

Both bills would extend health insurance to more than 30 million more Americans.

Vicki Kennedy, the widow of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health reform his life’s work, watched the vote from the gallery. So did Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the longest-serving House member and a champion of universal health care his entire career.

“This morning isn’t the end of the process, it’s merely the beginning. We’ll continue to build on this success to improve our health system even more,” Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said before the vote. “But that process cannot begin unless we start today … there may not be a next time.”

At a news conference a few moments later, Reid said the vote “brings us one step closer to making Ted Kennedy’s dream a reality.”

The Nevadan said that “every step of this long process has been an enormous undertaking.”

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, said he “very happy to see people getting health care they could not get.”

It was the Senate’s first Christmas Eve vote since 1895, when the matter at hand was a military affairs bill concerning employment of former Confederate officers, according to the Senate Historical Office.

The House passed its own measure in November. The White House and Congress have now come further toward the goal of a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s health care system than any of their predecessors.

The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years, an estimate that assumes lawmakers carry through on hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cuts to insurance companies and doctors, hospitals and others who treat Medicare patients.

For the first time, the government would require nearly every American to carry insurance, and subsidies would be provided to help low-income people to do so. Employers would be induced to cover their employees through a combination of tax credits and penalties. The legislation costs nearly $1 trillion over 10 years and is paid for by a combination of taxes, fees and cuts to Medicare.

Republicans were withering in their criticism of what they deemed a budget-busting government takeover. If the measure were worthwhile, contended Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., “they wouldn’t be rushing it through Congress on Christmas Eve.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner assailed the bill moments after passage.

“Not even Ebenezer Scrooge himself could devise a scheme as cruel and greedy as Democrats’ government takeover of health care,” the Ohio Republican said in a statement.

“Senator Reid’s health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses, raises taxes during a recession, cuts seniors’ Medicare benefits, adds to our skyrocketing debt, and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors,” he said. “The bill also authorizes taxpayer-funded abortions, violating long-standing federal policy. It’s no coincidence that the more the American people learn about this monstrosity, the more they oppose it.

The occasion was moving for many who’d followed Kennedy, who died in August.

“He’s having a merry Christmas in Heaven,” Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., appointed to fill Kennedy’s seat, told reporters after the tally.

Kirk said he was “humbled to be here with the honor of casting essentially his vote.”

Said Dingell: “This is for me, this is for my dad, this is for the country.”

Reid nailed the last votes down in a rush of deal making in the last week that is now coming under attack because of special provisions obtained by a number of senators. In Nebraska, home to conservative Democrat Ben Nelson, the Democrats’ crucial 60th vote, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of a planned Medicaid expansion in perpetuity, the only state getting that deal.

Negotiations between the House and Senate to reconcile differences between the two bills are expected to begin as soon as next week. The House bill has stricter limits on abortion than the Senate, and unlike the House, the Senate measure omits a government-run insurance option, which liberals favored to apply pressure on private insurers but Democratic moderates opposed as an unwarranted federal intrusion. Obama has signaled he will sign a bill even if it lacks that provision.

//

When Eric and I decided to try for a baby – or, more accurately, to stop not trying for a baby (in her memoir, Janna Cawrse Esarey refers to it as “pulling the goalie,” which I thought was great) – it happened quicker than the time it takes Joe Biden to remove his left foot from his mouth so that he can swap in the right one.

Gee, wouldn’t it be nice to have a child someday…um, wow. And by “someday” I guess I mean 8.5 months from now.

We never imagined we’d be celebrating our first wedding anniversary with a month-old infant (ours or anyone else’s, for that matter), and we’re incredibly grateful. Especially since I’m, as my friend K. so delicately puts it, “old – I mean, really old.” I’m not that old, but I know in egg years 36 is getting up there. For the record, K. is a smug lass of 34 – so she really shouldn’t be casting stones, as her eggs aren’t all that far from their sell-by date, either.

Anyway, we’re taking none of this for granted because we know so many people who have had trouble getting (or staying) pregnant. I recently heard through the grapevine that one of those people is Doris, the woman my ex-husband ran off with and is now married to. Doris, a lifelong whinger and hypochondriac, is apparently burning through home pregnancy tests like they’re going out of style and, in the words of our one remaining mutual friend, “freaking out.”

Am I a terrible person for being just a teeny bit thrilled by this news? Fertility troubles are not something you’d wish on your worst enemy – though, truth be told, if I were starting a “worst enemy” list there aren’t many people who’d outrank Doris. I don’t wish her or my ex a lifetime of unhappiness, but it’s hard to wish the gift (and responsibility) of parenthood on two people so selfish that I’d hesitate to entrust them with the care of my goldfish for the weekend.

During this special time of year, when we look inward and count our many blessings, I am reconciling myself to the unsettling yet undeniable fact that someone else’s misfortune is a small source of joy for me. If that makes me a bad person, so be it.

Ho Ho Ho.

NEWS

Senate reform bill passes last hurdle en route to passage
December 23, 2009 5:14 p.m. EST

‘On the doorstep of history’ :
Sen. Harry Reid applauds the work of his Senate colleague in moving the health care bill to a final vote.

Washington (CNN) — The Senate health care bill cleared a third and final procedural hurdle Wednesday as Democrats successfully limited remaining debate time on the $871 billion measure.

The Senate voted 60-39 along party lines to set a timetable for likely passage of the bill early Thursday morning.

Democrats also turned back last-ditch motions from Republicans claiming various provisions in the bill, including a mandate that individuals purchase coverage, are unconstitutional.

“It’s long past time we declare health care a right and not a privilege,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said after the vote.

“Today is a victory … for American families,” proclaimed Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana. “Americans won.”

The expected victory for President Obama’s top domestic priority comes after nearly a year of sharply polarized deliberations on Capitol Hill. Any measure passed by the Senate, however, will still have to be merged with a $1 trillion plan approved by the House of Representatives in November.

Increasingly confident Democrats hope to have a bill ready for Obama’s signature before his State of the Union address early next year.

“Health care reform is not a matter of if,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday. “Health care reform now is a matter of when.”

If a combined House-Senate health care bill clears Congress and is signed by Obama, it would be the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago.

Republicans have mounted a no-holds-barred legislative campaign against the bill, using a series of procedural maneuvers to slow debate while arguing that the measure will raise taxes while doing little to slow spiraling health care costs.

They’ve also ripped Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, for garnering the 60 votes necessary to pass the bill in part by cobbling together a series of “sweetheart deals” for wavering members of the Democratic caucus.

“This bill is a grab bag of Chicago-style, backroom buyoffs,” Utah GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch said Wednesday.

Recent compromises made to win the backing of moderates such as Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut also angered many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Democrats have now held three key procedural votes on the health care bill this week. The backing of all 60 members of the Democratic caucus was required during each vote in order to overcome a filibuster from a GOP minority united in opposition.

Final passage of the measure, in contrast, will require only a bare majority in the 100-member chamber.

Enthusiastic top Democrats argue the Senate bill would constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would extend health insurance to more than 30 million Americans currently lacking coverage while reducing the federal deficit.

The House and Senate bills agree on a broad range of changes that could impact every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They also have agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less-expensive coverage. Both the House plan and the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers also would be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history. However, both bills allow insurance companies to charge higher premiums for older customers.

Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals. The House bill would extend coverage to individuals earning up to 150 percent of the poverty line, or roughly $33,000 for a family of four; the Senate plan ensures coverage to those earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or just over $29,000 for a family of four.

Major differences between the bills will be the focus of the conference committee that will try to merge them. House and Senate Democrats are still divided over how to pay for their plans. They are also split on, among other things, language relating to abortion coverage and whether to include a government-run public health insurance option.

The House bill includes a public option; the more conservative Senate measure would instead create nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

When you read this, Press Secretary Gibbs will say that polls are meaningless, just as he and Obama always say when the poll numbers are showing them in a bad light.
However, have you taken an “good look” at Barack Hussein Obama lately? He appears to have lost weight, his hair has more gray and it appears to be falling out. All are signs of worry/stress. Obama knows he is not popular as he was and is in danger of following Carter and S.H.WW.Bush as a one term President.
I am not saying the numbers are 100% correct BUT they are indicitive of a major problem that is only getting worse.

Gallup: Obama Lowest Rated 1st Year President In History
posted in Politics
I noted earlier that the most recent Gallup poll has Obama with a measly 47% approval rating. What I didn’t realize is that it’s the lowest approval rating ever recorded for a 1st year President.Of course this is the Obama administration and when someone points out something unpleasant, Barry switches Worst-Press-Secretary-In-History Robert Gibbs to “attack” mode. Gibbs was asked about the polls by Fox News. His response?
“If I was a heart patient and Gallup was my EKG, I’d visit my doctor. I’m sure a six-year-old with a Crayon could do something not unlike that. I don’t put a lot of stake in, never have, in the EKG that is daily Gallup trend. I don’t pay a lot of attention to the meaninglessness of it.”Of course, Mr. Gibbs. The polls are always meaningless when they spell trouble, right?Gallup wasn’t particularly thrilled with the insult and issued an uncharacteristic reply. “Gibbs said that if Gallup were his EKG, he would visit his doctor. Well, I think the doctor might ask him what’s going on in his life that would cause his EKG to be fluctuating so much.”
At least every one’s in agreement that the President’s popularity is on life support.Here’s a list of every President that Gallup has polled from the beginning of their administrations, and their approval ratings at this point in their first terms:
– George W. Bush, 86 percent
– Bill Clinton, 52 percent
– George H.W. Bush, 71 percent
– Ronald Reagan, 49 percent
– Jimmy Carter, 57 percent
– Gerald Ford, 52 percent
– Richard Nixon, 59 percent
– Lyndon Johnson, 74 percent
– John Kennedy, 77 percent
– Dwight Eisenhower, 69 percent
– Harry Truman, 49 percent

NEWS

Senate health bill creates new insurance program
Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by Bill Trott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new government insurance program that would help the elderly and disabled stay in their homes is headed for passage in the U.S. Senate’s sweeping healthcare revamp despite doubts about its viability and cost.

Barack Obama |  Healthcare Reform

The measure has not received the intense scrutiny focused on a proposed government-run medical coverage plan, which has been jettisoned from the Senate’s healthcare bill and is unlikely to be restored in final legislation.

But the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, which was championed by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, is a significant program that supporters say is long overdue and critics say could add to the federal treasury’s long-term debt problems.

“If the CLASS Act becomes law, the federal taxpayer is at very serious risk of paying the price to clean up the fiscal disaster when the CLASS Act fails,” Republican Senator Charles Grassley said in a Senate speech on Tuesday.

Backers said the bill would allow disabled people to stay in their homes and out of institutional care.

It also could save states billions of dollars in the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, which provides long-term institutional care for the disabled poor typically at much higher cost than supporting them to stay in their homes.

“We think CLASS is one of the real transformational items in the (healthcare reform) bill,” said Larry Minnix, chief executive at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. He said the cost to states to provide long-term care for their elderly and disabled through Medicaid will skyrocket during the next 10 to 15 years without the new program.

The insurance is voluntary and would provide a cash benefit to participants if they become unable to perform at least two activities of daily life, such as dressing and bathing.

Under the Senate proposal, workers pay a monthly premium to buy coverage, probably through their employer. They would have to pay into the program for at least five years before qualifying for benefits.

PART-TIME HELP

The benefit would be at least $50 a day and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which estimates the cost of pending legislation, assumed it would provide about $75 a day.

Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, says that would be enough to hire a nurse for a few hours to help a disabled person get ready for work or to give a break to someone who is caring for an elderly parent or disabled family member.

Harkin said it was Kennedy’s wish that the measure be included in the sweeping healthcare overhaul that the Senate is expected to pass on Christmas Eve.

The measure is supported by dozens of healthcare groups and stands a good chance of being part of a final healthcare bill that goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. But a number of analysts have voiced concern about whether the program would be financially sound over the long run.

“I think there is a significant risk it won’t work,” said Allen Schmitz, an actuary with Milliman Inc, a global consulting firm. With an initial monthly premium that one estimate said could be as high as $240, few healthy people would choose to purchase the insurance and that could undermine the financial stability of the program, he said.

“They are creating a new government program that everyone concedes is clearly unsustainable,” said Dennis Smith, a healthcare reform analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

The insurance program would not screen people the way private insurers do. For that reason the program is likely to attract mostly those who will need some sort of long-term care, eventually undermining its financial health, he said.

The CBO said in its analyses that the program initially would raise enough money to reduce the federal deficit by $72 billion in the first 10 years, with about $2 billion of that attributed to savings in Medicaid, which provides long-term institutional care for the disabled poor.

Premium income would continue to help reduce federal deficits in the second decade. But after that it would begin to add to deficits as benefit payments exceeded premium income and any savings to the Medicaid program, CBO said without providing specific numbers.

A similar provision was included in the healthcare overhaul passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in November. The House calls for a more expansive program than the Senate. The Senate would make the program available to active workers while the House would allow non-working spouses to join as well.

The two chambers would have to work out their differences before a final bill can be delivered to Obama.

NEWS

Senate moves health bill forward
December 22, 2009 12:34 p.m. EST
’s Ted Barrett, Dana Bash and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

Health care bill on track: Senate leaders on health care reform hold a news conference to discuss the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Washington (CNN) — The Senate moved closer to passing health care reform Tuesday as Democrats cleared the second of three key procedural hurdles on the sweeping $871 billion measure.

The Senate voted 60-39 along party lines to adopt changes negotiated by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada. The Senate also set a timetable for ending debate on the bill.

A third and final procedural vote is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

If Democrats clear that hurdle, the Senate will be on track to take a final vote on Christmas Eve on whether to approve the Senate’s version of the bill to overhaul health care, President Obama’s top domestic priority.

“Health care reform is not a matter of if,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “health care reform now is a matter of when.”

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, declared that “the finish line is in sight.”

“We’re not the first to attempt such reforms, but we will be the first to succeed,” Baucus said.

Any measure the Senate passes still would have to be merged with the $1 trillion House version in what could be tough negotiations

In remarks Tuesday on the Senate floor, Reid acknowledged the toxic political environment surrounding the nearly yearlong debate.

Senators should set aside “personal animosity,” he said. “There’s a lot of tension in the Senate, but I would hope everyone would go back to their gentlemanly ways. … Let’s just all try to get along.”

Republicans have mounted a fierce campaign against the bill, using procedural tactics to slow debate and casting the measure as an unnecessary government intrusion in health care that will raise costs.

“Mark my words: This legislation will reshape our nation,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said Monday. “Americans have already issued their verdict. They don’t want it. They don’t like this bill, and they don’t like lawmakers playing games with their health care to secure the votes they need to pass it.”

If a combined House-Senate health care bill wins final approval from Congress and Obama signs it, the measure would be the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago.

Obama on Monday praised the Senate for “standing up to the special interests who prevented reform for decades and who are furiously lobbying against it now.”

The influential American Medical Association, a traditional opponent of overhauling health care, endorsed the Senate measure hours after a rare 1 a.m. Monday vote to start winding down debate.

Read CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s take on the health care bill

All three procedural votes require Democrats to win the backing of 60 members to break a GOP filibuster. Final passage of the measure, by contrast, will require a simple majority of 51 votes.

Back-room deals on health bill: CNN’s Dana Bash reports on Democratic leaders’ back-room deals to clinch health care reform.

To Democrats, Monday’s vote signaled eventual victory on the Senate bill.

“The die is cast. It’s done,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said.

Compromises made to win the backing of lawmakers such as Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, enraged many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Liberal Democrats are upset with Reid’s decision to abandon a government-run public health insurance option and an expansion of Medicare to Americans as young as 55.

But top Democrats argue the Senate bill still would constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation would extend health insurance coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans while reducing the federal deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The House and Senate bills agree on a broad range of changes that could affect every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They also have agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage. Both the House plan and the Senate bill eventually would limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers also would be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history. However, both bills allow insurance companies to charge higher premiums for older customers.

Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals. The House bill would extend coverage to individuals earning up to 150 percent of the poverty level, or roughly $33,000 for a family of four; the Senate plan ensures coverage to those earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or just more than $29,000 for a family of four.

Major differences between the bills would be the focus of a conference committee that would try to merge them.

One of the biggest divides is over how to pay for the plans. The House package is financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and Medicare spending reductions.

Specifically, individuals with annual incomes more than $500,000 — as well as families earning more than $1 million — would face a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge.

The Senate bill also cuts Medicare by roughly $500 billion. But instead of an income tax surcharge on the wealthy, it would impose a 40 percent tax on insurance companies providing what are called “Cadillac” health plans valued at more than $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families.

Proponents of the tax on high-end plans argue it’s one of the most effective ways to curb medical inflation. However, House Democrats oppose taxing such policies because it would hurt union members who traded higher salaries for more generous health benefits.

The Senate bill also would hike Medicare payroll taxes on families making more than $250,000; the House bill does not.

Another key sticking point is the dispute over a public option. The House plan includes a public option; the Senate plan would instead create new nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

Individuals under both plans would be required to purchase coverage, but the House bill includes more stringent penalties for most of those who fail to comply. The House bill would impose a fine of up to 2.5 percent of an individual’s income. The Senate plan would require individuals to purchase health insurance coverage or face a fine of up to $750 or 2 percent of his or her income — whichever is greater. Both versions include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill

Employers face a much stricter mandate under the House legislation, which would require companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

The Senate bill would require companies with more than 50 employees to pay a fee of up to $750 per worker if any of their employees rely on government subsidies to purchase coverage.

Abortion also has been a sticking point for both chambers. A late compromise with Catholic and other conservatives in the House led to the adoption of an amendment banning most abortion coverage from the public option. It would also prohibit abortion coverage in private policies available in the exchange to people receiving federal subsidies.

Senate provisions, made more conservative than initially drafted to satisfy Nelson, would allow states to choose whether to ban abortion coverage in plans offered in the exchanges. Individuals purchasing plans through the exchanges would have to pay for abortion coverage out of their own funds.

Nelson said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration.

Among other things, Nelson had a provision added to the bill requiring the federal government to cover Nebraska’s costs for expanded Medicaid coverage after 2016. No other state is slated to receive such a benefit.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll has some very interesting bits of data scattered within. As expected in this poll, Barack Obama’s favorable/unfavorable numbers are upside down, and support for his unconstitutional “health care reform” has collapsed.

Being an NBC poll, the internals are about what you’d expect:

Out of the 1008 questioned, democrats are over sampled by 6 percentage points over Republicans, though those who claim to have voted for Obama vs McCain are closer with only 3 points between them. So that sort of brings it back a little closer to reality.

Ninety percent of those polled are registered voters, not always the most reliable sample, as out of those polled, only sixty-seven percent voted. So one would have to consider this a soft sample. In other words those polled may, or may not reflect the mood of the nation as well as a sample that contained a higher percentage of likely voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.

What is interesting though is what is down further into the poll. Half of those polled were asked who they respected the most and half were asked who they respected the least. This yields some remarkable findings:

Now I’m going to mention some people who have served in public life at some point in the past decade. Please tell me which one or two of these people, if any, you have the most regard and respect for

THIS TABLE HAS BEEN RANKED BY THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE

Barack Obama………………….28

Colin Powell……………………..27

Bill Clinton………………………..21

George W Bush…………………17

Hillary Clinton……………………14

John McCain…………………….13

Sarah Palin……………………….13

Dick Cheney………………………9

Al Gore……………………………..8

Joe Biden…………………………..3

None…………………………………3

Not sure…………………………….3

Knowing the sample, that doesn’t seem all that unreasonable. What is simply remarkable is Joe Biden, the Vice President, with almost four decades in Congress is tied with “none of the above” and “I don’t have a clue” for dead last on the old respect-o-meter.

This next question is where it gets a bit more interesting:

Now I’m going to read you some people who have served in public life at some point in the past decade. Please tell me which one or two of these people, if any, you have the least regard and respect for.

THIS TABLE HAS BEEN RANKED BY THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE

George W Bush…………….33

Dick Cheney…………………27

Al Gore……………………….19

Barack Obama……………..19

Sarah Palin…………………..16

Bill Clinton…………………..14

Hillary Clinton………………10

Joe Biden……………………..9

John McCain…………………5

Colin Powell………………….1

None……………………………3

This is interesting to me mainly because it shows how just wording a question differently can yield somewhat different results. While in the first question Barack Obama is the most respected out of the bunch. When a different group is asked to name those who are least respected Obama has the dubious honor of finishing rather high in the ranking here as well. In fact, on the old disrespect-o-meter, more people have little regard for Obama than Sarah Palin.

What does this really mean? Practically nothing! But it tells us that in the grand scheme of things Sarah Palin may have a little work to do yet, when it comes to repairing her image, after being savaged by the media non-stop for a year. Of course, she has plenty of opportunities to do just that.

On the other hand, Barack Obama has done all he is ever going to do. While folks tend to like him personally, he consistently earns poor marks for actual job performance, which is what matters. So, for Obama, it’s all downhill from here.

You can check out the entire poll by clicking here.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll has some very interesting bits of data scattered within. As expected in this poll, Barack Obama’s favorable/unfavorable numbers are upside down, and support for his unconstitutional “health care reform” has collapsed.

Being an NBC poll, the internals are about what you’d expect:

Out of the 1008 questioned, democrats are over sampled by 6 percentage points over Republicans, though those who claim to have voted for Obama vs McCain are closer with only 3 points between them. So that sort of brings it back a little closer to reality.

Ninety percent of those polled are registered voters, not always the most reliable sample, as out of those polled, only sixty-seven percent voted. So one would have to consider this a soft sample. In other words those polled may, or may not reflect the mood of the nation as well as a sample that contained a higher percentage of likely voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.

What is interesting though is what is down further into the poll. Half of those polled were asked who they respected the most and half were asked who they respected the least. This yields some remarkable findings:

Now I’m going to mention some people who have served in public life at some point in the past decade. Please tell me which one or two of these people, if any, you have the most regard and respect for

THIS TABLE HAS BEEN RANKED BY THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE

Barack Obama………………….28

Colin Powell……………………..27

Bill Clinton………………………..21

George W Bush…………………17

Hillary Clinton……………………14

John McCain…………………….13

Sarah Palin……………………….13

Dick Cheney………………………9

Al Gore……………………………..8

Joe Biden…………………………..3

None…………………………………3

Not sure…………………………….3

Knowing the sample, that doesn’t seem all that unreasonable. What is simply remarkable is Joe Biden, the Vice President, with almost four decades in Congress is tied with “none of the above” and “I don’t have a clue” for dead last on the old respect-o-meter.

This next question is where it gets a bit more interesting:

Now I’m going to read you some people who have served in public life at some point in the past decade. Please tell me which one or two of these people, if any, you have the least regard and respect for.

THIS TABLE HAS BEEN RANKED BY THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE

George W Bush…………….33

Dick Cheney…………………27

Al Gore……………………….19

Barack Obama……………..19

Sarah Palin…………………..16

Bill Clinton…………………..14

Hillary Clinton………………10

Joe Biden……………………..9

John McCain…………………5

Colin Powell………………….1

None……………………………3

This is interesting to me mainly because it shows how just wording a question differently can yield somewhat different results. While in the first question Barack Obama is the most respected out of the bunch. When a different group is asked to name those who are least respected Obama has the dubious honor of finishing rather high in the ranking here as well. In fact, on the old disrespect-o-meter, more people have little regard for Obama than Sarah Palin.

What does this really mean? Practically nothing! But it tells us that in the grand scheme of things Sarah Palin may have a little work to do yet, when it comes to repairing her image, after being savaged by the media non-stop for a year. Of course, she has plenty of opportunities to do just that.

On the other hand, Barack Obama has done all he is ever going to do. While folks tend to like him personally, he consistently earns poor marks for actual job performance, which is what matters. So, for Obama, it’s all downhill from here.

You can check out the entire poll by clicking here.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has just a few weeks left in his time at the Commonwealth’s Chief Executive. Recently, I sat down with the Governor for a lengthy look back at his four years in office. Kaine revealed quite a bit during our discussion, much of which I will share over the next few weeks, leading up to the inauguration of his successor Bob McDonnell.

Among the many things we discussed was the vetting process during the campaign for President, that propelled Kaine into the national spotlight. Kaine developed a very close relationship with a then, Senator Barack Obama and was one of his early backers.  Even though Kaine was not very well-known across the Country, that friendship was one of the main reasons that Obama considered Virginia’s Governor to be his running mate.

Kaine, who was very quiet about the vetting process at the time, told me today that he, Joe Biden and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh were Obama’s three finalists. The selection process  has been outlined extensively in campaign manager David Plouffe’s book, “The Audacity to Win“. Kaine said that he was whisked away to several covert interviews including one with Obama himself. He said around that time, the candidate told him what his thought process was.

“The president told me at one point, he said you know, you are my heart pick and Biden is my head pick,” Kaine told me.  ” Sometimes I go with my heart, sometimes I go with my head.”

At the time, national pundits were very skeptical that Governor Kaine had the foreign policy credentials necessary to serve as Vice President. That concern was compounded by the fact that Senator Obama’s experience in foreign affairs was also not extensive.  Apparently, Kaine felt the same way.

“I remember the next day Georgia and Russia went to war,” said Kaine “and I thought okay, it’s going to be Biden!”

Looking back, Kaine said that Biden turned out to be the right choice. Not only because he and Obama ended up winning by such a large margin, but because the Vice President has been able to leverage his connections with members of Congress to push forward the President’s agenda when it comes to health care reform.

The extended clip from Kaine’s comments on the Vice Presidential search are below:

I’ll have more from my interview with the Governor in the coming days. To see my story from NBC12-TV on Kaine’s reflections of his time in office, click here.

NEWS

Senate health care bill clears key hurdle
December 21, 2009 8:15 a.m. EST
’s Ted Barrett, Dana Bash, Alan Silverleib and Jim Acosta contributed to this report.

The Senate vote on health care reform came shortly after 1 a.m. Monday.

Health care hurdle cleared: Health care reform cleared a major hurdle in an early morning vote in the senate. CNN’s Brianna Keilar reports.

What can health bill change?: CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Karen Tumulty of Time magazine talk about what the health care bill would do.

Partisan rancor fills D.C.: A blizzard of partisanship blankets Washington in the debate over health care reform. CNN’s Jim Acosta reports.

Washington (CNN) — Democrats won a major victory in their push for health care reform early Monday morning as the Senate voted to end debate on a package of controversial revisions to a sweeping $871 billion bill.

The 60-40 party-line vote, cast shortly after 1 a.m., kept Senate Democrats on track to pass the bill on Christmas Eve. If it passes, the measure will then have to be merged with a roughly $1 trillion plan passed by the House of Representatives in November. Shortly after the vote, the Senate went into recess until noon Monday.

The vote left President Obama on the cusp of claiming victory on his top domestic priority and enacting the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago.

“Today, the Senate took another historic step toward our goal of delivering access to quality, affordable health care to all Americans,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said in a statement.

The bill will help “promote choice and competition to drive down skyrocketing health care costs for families … all across America.”

The vote was the first of three this week requiring Democrats to win the backing of 60 members — enough to break a GOP filibuster. Final passage of the measure, in contrast, will require a simple majority in the 100-member chamber.

Many political observers believe Monday’s outcome indicates a likely Democratic win on the remaining procedural hurdles and the final vote.

Inside the Senate debate: A major health care victory for Democrats as a 60-40 party line vote was reached to end a package of controversial proposals.

Conservative Dem defends deal: In a CNN Exclusive, Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson explains his health care negotiations on ‘State of the Union.’

Obama adviser on drop in polls: Watch as a senior adviser to President Obama discusses the president’s approval rating with CNN’s John King.

“The die is cast. It’s done,” New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer proclaimed after the vote.

Republicans ripped the majority for passing the measure in the middle of the night and accused Democrats of ramming the bill through despite growing public opposition.

“Make no mistake: If the people who wrote this bill were proud of it, they wouldn’t be forcing this vote in the dead of night,” argued Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.

“Mark my words: this legislation will reshape our nation. And Americans have already issued their verdict. They don’t want it. They don’t like this bill, and they don’t like lawmakers playing games with their health care to secure the votes they need to pass it.”

The unusual timing of the vote was a consequence of Senate rules, Democrats’ determination to pass the bill before adjourning for the holidays, and the GOP’s willingness to use every possible legislative tactic to slow the bill’s progress.

Unanimous Republican opposition has forced Reid to win the support of all 60 members of his traditionally fractious Democratic caucus. Compromises made to win the backing of more conservative members, such as Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, have enraged many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Liberal Democrats are particularly upset with Reid’s decision to abandon a government-run public health insurance option and an expansion of Medicare to Americans as young as age 55 — ideas strongly opposed by Lieberman and other centrists.

Top Democrats, however, argue that the Senate bill as written would still constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would extend health insurance coverage to over 30 million Americans while reducing the federal deficit by $132 billion over the next decade.

The deficit would drop by another $1.3 trillion between the years 2019 and 2029, the CBO said.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have now reached agreement on a broad range of changes that could affect every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to about $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They have also agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage. Both the House plan and the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers would also be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history. Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals.

There are, however, major differences between the Senate measure and the more expansive — hence expensive — House bill.

One of the biggest divides is over how to pay for the plans. The House package is financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and new Medicare spending reductions. Individuals with annual incomes over $500,000 and families earning more than $1 million would face a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge.

The Senate bill also cuts Medicare by roughly $500 billion. It does not include a tax surcharge on the wealthy, however. It would instead impose a 40 percent tax on so-called “Cadillac” health plans.

Proponents of the tax on high-end plans argue it’s one of the most effective ways to curb medical inflation. House Democrats are adamantly opposed to taxing such policies, arguing that such a move would hurt union members who traded higher salaries for more generous benefits.

Another key sticking point is the dispute over a public option. The House plan includes a public option; the more conservative Senate plan would instead create new nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill

Under both plans, individuals would be required to purchase coverage. But the House bill includes more stringent penalties for most of those who fail to comply. Both versions include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.

Employers face a much stricter mandate under the House legislation, which would require companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

The Senate bill would require any company with more than 50 employees to pay a fee of up to $750 per worker if any of its employees relies on government subsidies to purchase coverage.

Abortion has also been a sticking point for both chambers. A late compromise with conservatives in the House led to the adoption of an amendment banning most abortion coverage from the public option.

It would also prohibit abortion coverage in private policies available in the exchange to people receiving federal subsidies.

Senate provisions, made more conservative than initially drafted in order to satisfy Nelson, would allow states to choose whether to ban abortion coverage in plans offered in the exchanges. Individuals purchasing plans through the exchanges would have to pay for abortion coverage out of their own funds.

Many observers expect the final bill will conform largely to the measure now moving through the Senate.

“Reid had to make a lot of concessions to get his entire caucus behind the Senate bill,” said CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.

“He can’t afford to a lose a single vote. Every Democratic senator has the power to kill this bill, and that fact gives Senate negotiators tremendous leverage in their negotiations with the House.”

Nelson told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration.

Among other things, Nelson had a provision added to the bill requiring the federal government to cover Nebraska’s costs for expanded Medicaid coverage after 2016. No other state is currently slated to receive such a benefit.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

NEWS

Senate votes to give green light to health care bill
December 21, 2009 1:50 a.m. & 4:18 a.m. EST
’s Ted Barrett, Dana Bash and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report

Washington (CNN) — Democrats won a major victory in their push for health care reform early Monday morning as the Senate voted to end debate on a package of controversial revisions to a sweeping $871 billion bill.

The 60 to 40 party-line vote, cast shortly after 1 a.m., kept Senate Democrats on track to pass the bill on Christmas Eve. If it passes, the measure will then have to be merged with a roughly $1 trillion plan passed by House of Representatives in November. The Senate went into recess until noon Monday shortly after the vote.

The vote left President Obama on the cusp of claiming victory on his top domestic priority and enacting the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago.

“Today, the Senate took another historic step toward our goal of delivering access to quality, affordable health care to all Americans,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said in a statement.

The bill will help “promote choice and competition to drive down skyrocketing health care costs for families … all across America.”

The vote was the first of three this week requiring Democrats to win the backing of 60 members — enough to break a GOP filibuster. Final passage of the measure, in the contrast, will require a bare majority in the 100-member chamber.

Many political observers believe Monday’s outcome indicates a likely Democratic win on the remaining procedural hurdles and the final vote.

A major health care victory for Democrats as a 60-40 party line vote was reached to end a package of controversial proposals.

In a CNN Exclusive, Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson explains his health care negotiations on ‘State of the Union.’

“The die is cast. It’s done,” New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer proclaimed after the vote.

Republicans ripped the majority for passing the measure in the middle of the night and accused Democrats of ramming the bill through despite growing public opposition.

“Make no mistake: If the people who wrote this bill were proud of it, they wouldn’t be forcing this vote in the dead of night,” argued Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.

“Mark my words: this legislation will reshape our nation. And Americans have already issued their verdict. They don’t want it. They don’t like this bill, and they don’t like lawmakers playing games with their health care to secure the votes they need to pass it.”

The unusual timing of the vote was a consequence of Senate rules, Democrats’ determination to pass the bill before adjourning for the holidays, and the GOP’s willingness to use every possible legislative tactic to slow the bill’s progress.

Unanimous Republican opposition has forced Reid to win the support of all 60 members of his traditionally fractious Democratic caucus. Compromises made to win the backing of more conservative members, such as Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, have enraged many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Liberal Democrats are particularly upset with Reid’s decision to abandon a government-run public health insurance option and an expansion of Medicare to Americans as young as age 55 — ideas strongly opposed by Lieberman and other centrists.

Top Democrats, however, argue that the Senate bill as written would still constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would extent health insurance coverage to over 30 million Americans while reducing the federal deficit by $132 billion over the next decade.

The deficit would drop by another $1.3 trillion between the years 2019 and 2029.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have now reached agreement on a broad range of changes that could effect every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They have also agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage. Both the House plan the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers would also be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history.

Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals. The House bill would extend coverage to individuals earning up to 150 percent of the poverty line, or roughly $33,000 for a family of four; the Senate plan ensures coverage to those earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or just over $29,000 for a family of four.

There are, however, major differences between the Senate measure and the more expansive — and hence expensive — House bill.

One of the biggest divides is over how to pay for the plans. The House package is financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and new Medicare spending reductions.

Specifically, individuals with annual incomes over $500,000 — as well as families earning more than $1 million — would face a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge.

The Senate bill also cuts Medicare by roughly $500 billion. It does not include a tax surcharge on the wealthy, however. It would instead impose a 40 percent tax on so-called “Cadillac” health plans valued at more than $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families.

Proponents of the tax on high-end plans argue it’s one of the most effective ways to curb medical inflation. House Democrats are adamantly opposed to taxing such policies, arguing that such a move would hurt union members who traded higher salaries for more generous benefits.

The Senate bill would also hike Medicare payroll taxes on families making over $250,000; the House bill does not.

Another key sticking point: the dispute over a public option. The House plan includes a public option; the more conservative Senate plan would instead create new nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill.

Individuals under both plans would be required to purchase coverage, but the House bill includes more stringent penalties for most of those who fail to comply. The House bill would impose a fine of up to 2.5 percent of an individual’s income. The Senate plan would require individuals to purchase health insurance coverage or face a fine of up to $750 or 2 percent of his or her income — whichever is greater.

Both versions include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.

Employers face a much stricter mandate under the House legislation, which would require companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

The Senate bill would require companies with more than 50 employees to pay a fee of up to $750 per worker if any of its employees relies on government subsidies to purchase coverage.

Abortion has also been a sticking point for both chambers. A late compromise with Catholic and other conservatives in the House led to the adoption of an amendment banning most abortion coverage from the public option.

It would also prohibit abortion coverage in private policies available in the exchange to people receiving federal subsidies.

Senate provisions, made more conservative than initially drafted in order to satisfy Sen. Nelson, would allow states to choose whether to ban abortion coverage in plans offered in the exchanges. Individuals purchasing plans through the exchanges would have to pay for abortion coverage out of their own funds.

Many observers expect the final bill will conform largely to the measure now moving through the Senate.

“Reid had to make a lot of concessions to get his entire caucus behind the Senate bill,” said CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser.

“He can’t afford to a lose a single vote. Every Democratic senator has the power to kill this bill, and that fact gives Senate negotiators tremendous leverage in their negotiations with the House.”

Nelson told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration.

Among other things, Nelson had a provision added to the bill requiring the federal government to cover Nebraska’s costs for expanded Medicaid coverage after 2016. No other state is currently slated to receive such a benefit.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

NEWS

Senate pushes to pass bill by holiday

December 20, 2009 6:10 p.m. EST

This weekend's snowstorm in Washington hasn't stalled the Senate debate to overhaul health care.

Washington (CNN) — Senate Democrats braved the aftermath of a blizzard Sunday to continue their push to pass a sweeping health care bill before Christmas.

The Senate began an all-day session, to be followed by a crucial vote scheduled for after midnight, on changes crafted by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to gain support for the bill from all 60 members of the Democratic caucus.

With Republicans unanimously opposed, Democrats need the support of their entire caucus to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote on the bill later this week.

“We have had a long, arduous and I think sometimes taxing debate to reach this moment,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, to open the session. “I think it’s time for a vote.”

A key hurdle was cleared Saturday when the last Democratic holdout, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, agreed to support the bill in return for compromise language on federal funding for abortion and more money for his state. It was the latest in a series of deals with Senate Democrats to hold together caucus support for the bill.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill

The House of Representatives already has passed its health care bill, and if the Senate also passes legislation, the two versions would be merged by a conference committee. Both chambers then would have to approve a final version before it goes to President Obama to be signed into law.

Obama had wanted to sign the bill by the end of year, but his senior adviser, David Axelrod, acknowledged Sunday that wouldn’t happen.

“I think we’re going to have some work to do when we come back” from the Christmas-New Year break, Axelrod said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Both Axelrod and Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday the Senate bill lacks some provisions the Obama administration wanted, but that it would bring much-needed health care reforms.

“There is no major piece of legislation that’s ever been passed without compromise; that’s the legislative process,” Axelrod said on NBC. “It is not perfect. Over time it may be improved, as all legislation is.”

In a New York Times op-ed published Sunday, Biden said the bill was “not perfect,” but called it “very good” because it expands coverage to those currently unable to afford or obtain health insurance while holding down the nation’s spiraling health care costs.

“I’ve been around a long time, and I know that in Washington big changes never emerge in perfect form,” Biden wrote.

Republicans, however, accused the Senate’s Democratic majority of working secretly to force through a poorly conceived bill that required special deals with recalcitrant caucus members.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the wheeling and dealing “personifies the worst” in how Washington operates, while Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, accused the Democrats of buying support.

“This process is not legislation; this is corruption,” Coburn said at a news conference.

The only Republican to have voted for a health care reform plan in the Senate Finance Committee in October, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, said Sunday she would oppose the measure now before the full chamber.

“I deeply regret that I cannot support the pending Senate legislation as it currently stands, given my continued concerns with the measure and an artificial and arbitrary deadline of completing the bill before Christmas that is shortchanging the process on this monumental and trans-generational effort,” Snowe said in a statement.

While Reid apparently believes he has the 60 votes now to pass the Senate bill, it was unclear how senators would react to changes by a conference committee.

Nelson told “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration. In particular, Nelson said he would oppose a bill that includes a government-run public health insurance option in the House version but cut from the Senate bill.

Facing criticism from both Republican opponents of health care and liberal Democrats seeking a stronger bill, Nelson said, “It’s like going home and getting bit by the family dog. Who enjoys that?”

“The high intensity here is as harsh and unforgiving and unrelenting as I have ever seen it in my nine years here,” he said of the health care debate.

Meanwhile, Republican Mike Huckabee, a former presidential hopeful and ex-governor of Arkansas, traveled to Nelson’s home state to rally against the senator’s decision to vote in favor of the bill. Speaking at an Americans for Prosperity event in Omaha, Huckabee invoked the holiday spirit, likening the health care bill to a “lump of coal” that has “fired up” the public.

“If the members of this Congress will not pay attention to the people who elected them, who hired them and who have the right to fire them, then the people in this country will remind them who they work for when they no longer get to work for them,” he said.

The $871 billion Senate bill would be the largest deficit-reduction measure in a decade, Obama said Saturday.

“We are on the cusp of making health care reform a reality,” the president said.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation could decrease the deficit by $132 billion over the first decade, and more than $1 trillion in the 10 years afterward, Obama said at a brief news conference.

While the House and Senate bills agree on most issues, there are significant differences over how to pay for them and how they will expand health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans.

The House bill calls for an income tax surcharge on the wealthy, while the Senate version would increase the Medicare payroll tax for those earning more than $200,000 and levy a tax on insurance companies that provide expensive health plans.

Axelrod told “State of Union” that the president thinks the Senate idea to tax insurance companies that provide high-cost “Cadillac” health care coverage is worth considering.

Axelrod avoided discussing details but said that taxing the expensive insurance plans would lower their long-term costs because insurers would seek to bring down the price to avoid the tax. Obama “thinks that has some merit,” Axelrod said.

Organized labor opposes taxing expensive health plans, arguing such benefits have been negotiated for workers in lieu of pay raises in a changing economy.

Axelrod noted the plan would tax insurance companies, forcing them to become more efficient. Eventually, he said, reducing the cost of employer-provided health care should mean more money to raise wages.

Some liberal Democrats criticize the Senate bill as being too weak, but Axelrod said a final health care measure passed by Congress will mean historic and far-reaching benefits for the nation.

“It is so wrong to suggest that this is somehow some kind of middling improvement for the American people,” Axelrod said.

In a CNN Exclusive, Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson explains his health care negotiations on ‘State of the Union’.

Obama adviser David Axelrod tells John King that his administration is on the cusp of reforming health care.

CNN’s Howard Kurtz talks with three top journalists about the personal tone of the health care debate coverage.

Sen. Lindsey Graham gives scathing criticism of the Obama administration and the proposed Senate health care bill.

CNN’s Dana Bash reports, as Sen. Ben Nelson pledges support for health care reform, bring the vote count to 60.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Washington (CNN) — Senate Democrats braved the aftermath of a blizzard Sunday to continue their push to pass a sweeping health care bill before Christmas.

Original DVD cover

The Senate began an all-day session to be followed by a crucial vote scheduled for after midnight on changes crafted by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to gain support for the bill from all 60 members of the Democratic caucus.

With Republicans unanimously opposed, Democrats need the support of their entire caucus to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote on the bill later this week.

“We have had a long, arduous and I think sometimes taxing debate to reach this moment,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, to open the session. “I think it’s time for a vote.”

A key hurdle was cleared Saturday when the last Democratic holdout, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, agreed to support the bill in return for compromise language on federal funding for abortion and more money for his state.

…snip…

The House of Representatives already has passed its health care bill, and if the Senate also passes legislation, the two versions would be merged by a conference committee.

…snip…

Obama had wanted to sign the bill by the end of year, but his senior adviser, David Axelrod, acknowledged Sunday that wouldn’t happen.

…snip…

Both Axelrod and Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday the Senate bill lacks some provisions the Obama administration wanted, but that it would bring much-needed health care reforms.

…snip…

Republicans, however, accused the Senate’s Democratic majority of working secretly to force through a poorly conceived bill that required special deals with recalcitrant caucus members.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the wheeling and dealing “personifies the worst” in how Washington operates, while Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, lamented the rushed voting schedule.

“If you want to go home for Christmas, you’ve got to go through these series of votes and vote for it,” Kyl said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Ultimately, Paul Krugman is right: the health care reform bill has to be passed, regardless of its deviation from the vision President Obama may have had when the debate on health care reform began more than half a year ago.

Progressives have many reasons to be displeased with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Senate Democrats who have abandoned the public option. But President Obama has consistently chosen pragmatism over ideology, so the bill emerging from the Senate should not be that much of a surprise. It’s not an ideal compromise but it’s something, and at this point in the health care debate–a debate that has been raging on Capitol Hill since the summer–something emerging from Congress and landing on the president’s desk is far better than wasting all these months and producing nothing.

After all, the bill coming from the Senate is reform. And, as David Herszenhorn of the New York Times reports, the number of Americans who will receive coverage as a result of this reform is the same as the number projected to receive coverage under a public option. Thirty-one million Americans currently without health coverage will have access to health care if Congress can pass this bill. Thirty-one million people. That’s an accomplishment that no one can deny. Perhaps Joe Biden was slightly overdramatic in his op-ed, but no one can discount how monumental this bill is.

Establishing health reform is the first step. This legislation is not the solution to all of our problems–and I don’t believe anyone is promoting it as such. However, it is a start, and once passed, Congress can continue to reform and reshape our national health policy in a positive direction they couldn’t possibly hope to pursue without the groundwork this bill will provide.

Here’s something I don’t understand. Do some people who go into politics plan to make it their life’s work? Or are they simply unable to get or keep a real job? Look at the tenures of some of today’s professional politicians. Former Ku Klux Klansman Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) was first elected in 1959. The late murdering womanizer, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) served 47 years; Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) since 1963; Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) since 1974; bumbling Vice President Joe Biden (D-DE) was elected to the Senate in 1973; the late Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) served for 47 years and like Robert Byrd was senile for the last 25 years of his tenure. Representative John Dingell (D-MI) has served 54 years; Representative John Conyers (D-MI) has served 45 years; Representative David Obey (D-WI) was elected 40 years ago; tax-cheat Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has been in the U.S. House for 39 years; Representative Bill Young (R-FL) for 39 years; and the psychopath Senator John McCain (R-AZ) was first elected to the U.S. House 27 years ago.

OK, I know that was really a long paragraph. But not nearly as long as some of these jackasses have been taking a paycheck at the expense of the taxpayer. And worse, they have been there so long that they are costing us in so many other ways . . . mainly as a result of the garbage that they are sponsoring and for which they are voting.

Here’s another question. Why do so many losers in our society continue to vote for these professional politicians? Every election they show up at the polls and like robots they pull the lever for the Kennedys, the Byrds and the Dingells of the world. I don’t know if it’s because they are each being paid $10 for the vote, or are just dumber than a ball of belly button lint. More than likely it’s both.

Yet, believe it or not I’m OPPOSED to term limits. While this may sound like a good way to get rid of these leeches it’s not the answer. I have a better idea. I think once a politician has served 20 years in office he should be required to work at McDonald’s, Burger King or Wal-Mart for five years before he or she can run for office again. In the process, the politician can be reintroduced back into society to learn how to live a productive life after 20 years of pillaging and plundering. And I’ll bet the recidivism rate would drop precipitously.

And I thought they were going to conclude that the Queen of England was Obama’s mom…

Obama frowns “But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?”
The Queen takes a sip of tea. “Oh, that’s easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle.”

The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. “Please send Tony Blair in here, would you?”

Tony Blair walks into the room. “Yes, my Queen?”
The Queen smiles. “Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?”

Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answers, “That would be me.”
“Yes! Very good,” says the Queen.

Obama goes back home to ask Joe Biden, his vice president, the same question.

“Joe. Answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It’s not your brother and it’s not your sister. Who is it?”

“I’m not sure,” says Biden. “Let me get back to you on that one.” He goes to his advisors and asks every one, but none can give him an answer.
Finally, he ends up in the men’s room and recognizes Colin Powell’s shoes in the next stall.

Biden asks Powell, “Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it’s not your brother or your sister. Who is it?”

Colin Powell yells back, “That’s easy. It’s me!”

Biden smiles, and says, “Thanks!” Then, he goes back to speak with Obama.

“Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It’s Colin Powell.”

Obama a gets up, stomps over to Biden, and angrily yells into his face,

“No, you idiot! It’s Tony Blair!”

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler joined Vice President Joe Biden and other leaders a Thursday December 20th meeting of the White House Middle Class Task Force. The topic: restoring our crippled manufacturing sector.

The White House Middle Class Task Force yesterday issued a framework detailing the challenges facing manufacturing, and Shuler delivered a message to the White House that fixing manufacturing must be a priority in building a stronger economy. More >>