Senate Health Care Vote: More Details, Mary Landrieu's $300 Million Louisianna Purchase

by the Left Coast Rebel

More details trickling in and insight from those smarter than I. First of I am reading Byron York in the Washington Examiner. He asks a simple question : why was it so hard for Dems to get enough votes to even begin debate:

The extraordinary thing about the dramatic events surrounding the health care bill in the Senate is that there was any drama at all. Lawmakers were simply voting to begin debate on the Democratic version of health care reform. Just begin debate -- not end it, and not move on to a final vote

asked a high-ranking Republican Senate source whether it was really that hard to get the Democratic votes together. Could it have been a media-fed story, with reporters looking to inject some unwarranted drama into the proceedings? No, I was told. "It really was that hard for them to get to 60 just to proceed," the source said. "Very telling."

Dozens of polls show that Americans are deeply divided over the issue, with a slight plurality opposing the Democratic health care plans currently under consideration in Congress

Given that, Democrats are trying to pass the biggest piece of legislation in decades, one that will create an enormous and permanent new entitlement, with less than majority support among the public.

How much for a senator's soul? 300 million dollars? Why stop there? The fleecing of America, in open daylight, under no uncertain terms. The Louisianna purchase-porkulus of Mary Landrieu. From WaPo:

And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor midafternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote -- and to trumpet the financial "fix" she had arranged for Louisiana. "I am not going to be defensive," she declared. "And it's not a $100 million fix. It's a $300 million fix."

Good news? Or bad news? You tell me:

And the big shakedown is yet to occur: That will happen when Reid comes back to his caucus in a few weeks to round up 60 votes for the final passage of the health bill.

Republicans also knew that a single defection would kill the bill, so they tried to pressure the holdouts. "That's what we've got to choose today: Do we choose life or do we choose death?" declared Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). "We just need one vote, one vote on the other side."

This fight is yet to come and as the WaPo point to here, from Senator Sam Brownback, merely one defector from the Dem side will kill this thing. Shock and Awe activism anyone? I don't want to even hear the Nervous Nellies and Winnie the Pooh Eeyore's of the conservative world right now. You know who you are. Shape up, pull yourselves up by your bootstraps and get this thing killed. For good......