Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu finally called their own bluff and announced at the last minute that they would, controversially, vote to allow the Senate to debate a piece of legislation it has spent most of this year crafting, to help provide affordable medical care to people. What heroes. Their procedural votes for their own party’s major bill cost the nation hundreds of millions of dollars in pork handouts. That’s how Serious About The Deficits they are. MORE »

A new poll from Zogby (grain of salt!) shows Arkansas Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln slightly ahead of her possible 2010 opponents for the moment, but when people are asked how they would vote if Blanche Lincoln voted for health care reform, she is losing by double digits. Televised pundits and such will see this and scream about how Blanche Lincoln simply CANNOT afford to support health care reform now, IT WOULD BE POLITICAL SUICIDE! MORE »

• HERE YOU GO: The ABSOLUTELY TRUE (completely arbitrary) conventional wisdom regarding the CBO’s scoring of Harry Reid’s Senate health care bill has been that it needs to come in at less than $900 billion, or the entire reform effort would collapse, and Trig’s army would finally seize its opportunity cross the Rubicon. The report’s coming out now: $849 billion. Now, for Harry Reid, it’s just a matter of convincing several members of his own party to not join Republicans in a filibuster to block this important bill from reaching an open debate on the Senate floor. Debates have well-known Stalinist agendas, according to a website. [Politico]

Oh, some bill passed. A resolution to honor the… let’s see… oh wait jesus they passed a HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL? This will have some sort of effect on the 2010 elections, the pundits are saying. Wow. Give it up to Nancy Pelosi with the whippage, you guys. She’s passed two enormous, signature bills (this and energy) with a caucus that includes two polar opposite blocs, either of which could kill a bill if it wanted to, and both of which are constantly threatening to do that exact thing. And now health care, like energy, will go to the Senate and somehow emerge as a cap gains tax cut. Hooray! [NYT]

Now now, liberals, you can no longer smugly declare in political arguments, “the Republicans don’t even have a health care plan,” because they do! John Boehner released the GOP alternative plan a few days ago, and the CBO scored it, to much fanfare. It is but a modest (Very Responsible Centrist) plan to save America from the Muslims. One of its central tenets — and the health care thing you’ve been hearing Republicans blab on about most, after they’ve exhausted tort reform — is to allow consumers to purchase health care plans across state lines. Doesn’t that sound nice, for competition and pricing? But what if… what if many of the health insurers then set up shop in the “state” of the Northern Marianas, where there is not a single law against anything? MORE »

By the Comics Curmudgeon
Do you remember ’round about a year ago when it was all “hope and change” this and “yes we can” that, and everything was going to be fixed, forever? Ha ha! Obviously all of our problems are intractable and terrible and nobody can fix them, no matter how nice his teeth are. And so, we must muddle on with our sad, grey lives, turning briefly to media sensations for the brief peaks of joy we used to experience during holiday celebrations or sex. Tune in for more grim tidings, after the jump! MORE »

If you’re interested in health care reform, and only have time today to get really really pissed off at one Congressional development, check out this bit of “Joementum” sweeping through the news: “Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) told reporters today that he would in fact filibuster any health care bill he doesn’t agree with–and right now, he doesn’t agree with the public option proposal making its way through the Senate.” THINKING VERY VIOLENT THOUGHTS. MORE »

• HARRY REID TO GIVE MERGED SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL DETAILS AT 3:15: Ooh, Harry Reid is going to announce the particulars of his merged Senate health care bill in a press conference at 3:15! Supposedly it will include a public option with an opt-out plan for states (”modest boondoggle”), which is good, considering the alternative would a trigger (”massive, tragicomic boondoggle”). But one can never be sure with Harry Reid! We’re putting our money on the announcement of no health care reform whatsoever, just a 75% cap gains tax cut. [Greg Sargent/The Plum Line]

• TODAY IN HEALTH CARE GOSSIP: This just reeks of Rahm Emanuel’s farts: “Multiple sources tell TPMDC that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is very close to rounding up 60 members in support of a public option with an opt out clause, and are continuing to push skeptical members. But they also say that the White House is pushing back against the idea, in a bid to retain the support of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME).” Here we will offer a rare moment of positive reinforcement: GO HARRY REID. [TPM]

Sen. Mary Landrieu, a terrible person: “I think when people hear ‘public option’ they hear ‘free health care.’ Everybody wants free health care. Everybody wants health care they don’t have to pay for. The problem is, is that we in governments and business have to pick up the tab and as individuals. So I’m not at all surprised that the public option’s been sold as free health care. But there is no free lunch.” GOODNESS. MORE »

We all know that Barack Obama, who is actually Richard Nixon, likes to speak out against certain practices of the health insurance industry solely because Rahm Emanuel wrote “GRRR INSURANCE GRRR!”, in his self-loathing Jew blood, atop the official White House Enemies List, and Obama must obey this list. What “Chicago-style politicians” these guys are, speaking out against private capitalism business people, just trying to make a buck! MORE »