Friday, November 20, 2009

Big Senate Healthcare Vote Set For Nov. 21

Well, everyone calls Harry Reid a superior vote counter so I suppose if they're voting tomorrow, then they have the votes. Once again, Catholic Bishops are wanting certain abortion language in the Senate bill like the House bill. Meanwhile, the White House pushes for the bill on the eve of a vote to move the bill to debate. Also, if Mary Landrieu is complimenting Reid, she's probably going to vote for the bill:
“I don’t think there are many people in the whole world other than Harry Reid who could do this,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, one of the lawmakers who have been a thorn in Mr. Reid’s side with their reluctance to commit to supporting a preliminary vote to open debate. That vote is set for Saturday evening. NYT
Landrieu, who says she's "neutral" on the bill, says she pushed to get a deal for Louisiana. I'm sure this is political theater. Still, it's what makes politics ugly:
She acknowledged that she had fought for changes to the bill to help people in her state. Reid included an extra $100 million in Medicaid funding for states hit by Hurricane Katrina, which includes Louisiana.

“I’m using as much leverage as I have for the issues that I think are important not just to Louisiana but to broad constituencies throughout this country... In some ways, you can’t fix anything unless you keep the debate moving forward but in the other ways, you’ve got to use the leverage when you’ve got it to get some things that are important,” Landrieu said. Politico
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