As expected:
Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), the final Democratic holdout on health care, announced to his caucus Saturday morning that he would support the Senate reform bill, clearing the way for final passage by Christmas.
“We’re there,” said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), as he headed into a special meeting to outline the deal.
Democratic leaders spent days trying to hammer out a deal with Nelson, and worked late Friday night with him on abortion coverage language that had proved the major stumbling block. Nelson also secured other favors for his home state.
Under the new abortion provisions, states can opt out of allowing plans to cover abortion in insurance exchanges the bill would set up to serve individuals who don’t have employer coverage. Plus, enrollees in plans that do cover abortion procedures would pay for the coverage with separate checks – one for abortion, one for rest of health-care services.
Which means, in essence, nothing at all for the pro-life position Nelson alleges he supports. So, in return for a cosmetic change in the abortion language and some pork bribes, Nelson now agrees to saddle America with ObamaCare. And, people, he’s supposedly one of the good, smart Democrats.
This doesn’t make everything a completely done deal, but I have always suspected that Reid would be able to cobble together something that he can passed called “health care reform” and then just allow people to slip in or strip out whatever they want in Conference. On final passage of the Conference bill, we might even see Reid voting “no” in order to get some coverage against backlash among Nevada voters. Once it goes to conference, a total of 10 Democrats can vote against – and that should cover all the Democrats who are vulnerable in 2010.
The good news is that we at least ensured that implementation of the programs will take place after 2013…which gives us plenty of time to repeal. Meanwhile, Democrats now own American healthcare – if there isn’t immediate improvement and/or if there is a deterioration in public perception of health care, Democrats will take the blame. And it doesn’t matter that the “benefits” don’t kick in for years – Democrats have not been exactly shouting that fact from the rooftops and their MSM enablers have kept silent, too…only political junkies are very familiar with this…the broad mass of people are probably under the impression that once this thing is signed by Obama, it will all be a done deal. Ah, what tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.
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