Democrats Will Decide
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday that Republican senators are prepared to filibuster the government-run public option and that on this vote there is no compromise.
You may recall that Olympia Snowe voted for the Baucus bill in committee in order to “keep the discussion going.” Yesterday, in a shot across the bow of Snowe and other “moderates,” McConnell said, “I think it’s appropriate to make the point at the outset that a vote … on the motion to proceed to this bill [to end the filibuster of the public option] will be treated as a vote on the merits of the bill.” Let me explain why.
This bill can’t be stopped by just Republicans. They have only 40 votes in the Senate – that is not enough to sustain a filibuster. Socialized medicine will pass or fail depending on what a handful of “moderate” Democrats do. If they vote with Harry Reid to let the bill come to the Senate floor, it will pass — period. The senators who most likely will control the fate of ObamaCare are:
- Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) — (501) 375-2993
- Mark Pryor (D-AR) — (501) 324-6336
- Joe Lieberman (I-CT) — (860) 549-8463
- Evan Bayh (D-IN) — (317) 554-0750
- Mary Landrieu (D-LA) — (225) 389-0395
- Max Baucus (D-MT) — (406) 657-6790
- Jon Tester (D-MT) — (406) 449-5401
- Kent Conrad (D-ND) — (701) 258-4648
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND) — (701) 250-4618
- Ben Nelson (D-NE) — (402) 441-4600
- Tim Johnson (D-SD) — (605) 332-8896
- Jim Webb (D-VA) — (804) 771-2221
- Mark Warner (D-VA) — (804) 739-0247
If you live in any of these states, be certain to call your senators and share your thoughts with them.
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