While the White House and leftwing activists may be in denial about the results of last week’s special election in Massachusetts, a number of politicians appear to be getting the message. In the immediate aftermath of Scott Brown’s stunning upset victory, the White House was defiant and determined to pass ObamaCare. Having lost their 60-vote supermajority in the Senate, Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi quickly began discussing the available options for muscling their socialized medicine scheme through Congress.

Two plans emerged. One, called the “ping pong” option, would have the House pass the Senate’s bill with no amendments. But two days after Brown’s win, Pelosi said she didn’t have the votes to pass the Senate bill because of major differences. That left Democrats with reconciliation as their last option.

It’s a tricky legislative procedure, but it requires only 51 votes to pass the Senate. Major leftwing groups like SIEU, AARP and MoveOn.org were demanding Democrats move quickly to ram Obamacare through using the reconciliation process. For the past few days, it seemed likely that the Reid and Pelosi would try it.

Conservative groups were quick to sound the alarm, and our efforts are making a difference. Late yesterday evening, Politico reported that at least eight Senate Democrats (including Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman) had expressed outright opposition or strong reservations to using this trick to pass a bill that nearly 60% of the public opposes. Suddenly, Harry Reid is saying “There is no rush” to pass ObamaCare.

Liberals just can’t contain themselves. When they start losing a debate, they resort to epithets. Yesterday, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid went to the Senate floor and denounced opponents of socialized medicine by comparing them to defenders of slavery and opponents of civil rights. Reid said:

“Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, ‘slow down, stop everything, let’s start over.’ If you think you’ve heard these same excuses before, you’re right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said ‘slow down, it’s too early, things aren’t bad enough.’ …When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today.”

[For those who don't understand why Reid is way off on his statement: Republicans today aren't saying "slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough." They're saying "start over"!  There's a BIG difference.  Republicans want change in health care too (and they've made propositions for the past X years including this year), but not the change that Liberals are forcing down our throats.]

Media reaction so far has been subdued, and that’s not surprising – there’s a different standard for liberal politicians. You’ll no doubt recall that leftwing pundits lectured the town hall protestors this summer for their incivility for daring to question the wisdom of government-run healthcare. Yet they are silent when liberal leaders display their own incivility and contempt for the American people. Sadly, this is nothing new for Harry Reid. This summer he called the town hall protesters “evil mongers.”

Our liberal elites just can’t imagine why anyone would oppose socialism. What’s not to love about government bureaucrats denying needed surgeries, arthritis medication and cancer treatments?

The healthcare “reform” debate in the Senate may well be in its final stages. Yesterday, President Obama rushed to Capitol Hill to give Senate Democrats a pep talk. The president reminded them of the historic significance of their work and urged them to stick together. According to various reports, he avoided discussing contentious policy issues and attempted to “stay above the fray.”

Friday, Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin told reporters that only two issues remain unresolved. Durbin said, “Abortion and [the] public option are really the major obstacles at this point.” One may be dealt with today. Sunday, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate will take up abortion funding today. Senators Hatch (R-UT) and Nelson (D-NE) will offer an amendment similar to one that passed the House guaranteeing that no federal money will be used to pay for abortions. Few expect the amendment to pass since only three Democrats are likely to support it.

That said, I found Durbin’s statement very profound. This “reform” plan sets the stage for socialized medicine in America, and liberals are okay with that. It raises taxes by half a trillion dollars, and liberals are okay with that. It cuts Medicare by half a trillion dollars, and liberals are evidently okay with that. For the first time in our history, the federal government is going to mandate that citizens purchase a product or risk going to jail, and liberals are okay with that.

There is no enforcement mechanism to guarantee that illegal aliens would not be subsidized in this plan, and liberals seem to be okay with that. The bill creates a new trillion-dollar entitlement program when we are running record deficits, and liberals are okay with that. It purports to cover tens of millions of individuals without providing one additional nurse or doctor to care for them. The obvious result will be long lines leading to rationed care, and liberals are okay with that too.

Liberal politicians may be oblivious to reality, but the American people are very worried about what government-run healthcare would mean for them. For example, voters in Harry Reid’s home state of Nevada are growing more skeptical of this socialized medicine scheme. Just 39% of Nevada voters support Obama’s takeover of our healthcare system, while 53% oppose it.

What’s interesting about this poll is that Harry Reid is up for reelection next year, and the percentage of voters who say they would reelect him isn’t much higher than those supporting this socialized healthcare scheme. This poll and others suggest that politicians pushing ObamaCare this year may find their careers in critical condition next year.

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.

On Monday, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid announced a grand compromise on healthcare “reform” legislation. To please the leftwing base of his party, Reid’s bill would include a government-run public option – the first step toward socialized medicine in America. That’s not my opinion, but Barney Franks’. To attract the votes of moderate Democrats, Reid announced that his plan would allow states to opt-out of the public option.

The state legislature would have to vote on legislation to opt-out, and the governor would have to sign the opt-out bill. But here’s the catch: There is no opting-out of the taxes to pay for this new $1 trillion entitlement program. All the taxes and penalties would remain in effect, so citizens of states that opt-out would still end up paying for a program they can’t access. As Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said, “the big [liberal] states will [opt-in] and the rest of us will end up paying for their excesses.” Remember what happened to the conservative governors who tried to “opt-out” of the stimulus money?

Last night on MSNBC, leftwing radical Ed Schultz was effusive with praise for Harry Reid’s “opt-out” deception. Schultz stated flatly what drives liberal politics: get constituents hooked on government programs and you have a guaranteed voting base. Schultz said of the public option:

“This is a great move by the Democrats. …Once you give it [the public option] to them, they don’t want to give it up. That’s the way it’s gonna be. I think this is a great move by Harry Reid. The public option is a public option. And it is – it is – the first step toward single payer [socialized medicine]. That’s what we progressives want. This is just the road to get there.”

It couldn’t be clearer than that. Liberal politicians and leftwing progressives are taking us down the road toward socialism, toward confiscatory tax rates, even bigger government, greater spending and more debt.

Your freedom is at stake. The standard of living you have enjoyed will be denied to your children and grandchildren if this new trillion-dollar entitlement program passes. And the quality of healthcare that is available today will be destroyed if government gets involved.

If you haven’t already done so, read URGENT! Harry Reid to hide the new Healthcare Bill until minutes before voting!

This afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-to-9 in favor of a massive healthcare “reform” plan sponsored by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT). Let me make a few observations. Every Democrat, along with Republican Olympia Snowe, voted for it. All the other Republicans voted against it.

In analyzing the Baucus bill, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) suggested that the plan would probably cost $830 billion and save the government about $80 billion over ten years. But the CBO looked at “conceptual language,” not the actual legislative language. In other words, the CBO didn’t see the real bill, and it admits that “those estimates are all subject to substantial uncertainty.” Evidently “substantial uncertainty” was good enough for 14 Senate liberals.

Now the real heavy lifting begins. The Baucus bill is just one of several plans approved by various committees. Neither the House nor the Senate has actually passed anything. This battle is not over. Democrats have a super majority, but there are deep divisions among them.

Dear Friends,

The Senate Finance Committee will vote TUESDAY and will likely pass its version of ObamaCare complete with the abortion mandate, massive tax increases and the wholesale government takeover of healthcare.

Just one problem…

There is NO real bill in the Finance Committee!

The Finance Committee is working off what is called the “Chairman’s Mark,” which is really just “plain language” notes about the bill! Committee staffers admit that the actual legislative text for the bill hasn’t been written (or at least it hasn’t been released to the public!).

Even worse…

Majority Leader Harry Reid ultimately controls the process in the Senate and our best sources tell us he will push his own version of ObamaCare directly to the floor for a vote!  Once again, we have no idea what that bill actually says. There have been no drafts and it will not be subjected to Committee scrutiny!

It is very likely that the actual text of the Reid bill — the final bill the Senate votes on — will remain hidden until the very last minute. Why?  It’s clear that he doesn’t want the American people to know what is in this healthcare bill!

+ + Tell the Senate: “Show Us The Bill!”

This is political chicanery at its very worst.  Harry Reid knows the American public is not in favor of ObamaCare and its abortion mandate, so he is resorting to HIDING the bill’s content and his plans from citizens like you and me!

And as we learned from his “attach it to an unrelated bill and call the vote at midnight” strategy to pass Hate Crimes legislation, Reid will stop at nothing to please the White House and pass this dangerous, cost-prohibitive bill no matter what Americans think!

I’m asking you to take a stand with me and demand that the Senate SHOW US THE BILL before any further votes on ObamaCare are taken! There are two important ways to take action.

FIRST, fax your Senators and other key Senators and say, ”Show Us The Bill!” Go here to schedule your faxes:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=22163&CID=297&RID=20868001

Of course, if you prefer to send your own faxes, please go here for fax numbers and sample texts for your faxes:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=22164&CID=297&RID=20868001

SECOND, call your two Senators and tell them that they should not vote on ANY health reform bill until they and the American public have had reasonable time to review the ACTUAL LEGISLATIVE TEXT.

Sen. Feinstein          202-224-3841
Sen. Boxer      202-224-3553

Again, we simply MUST see the actual bill, especially when every draft has included provisions that could greatly expand abortion coverage and force you and me to pay for abortions!

Thank you for telling your senators, “Show Us The Bill!”

God bless you,

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel