Via twitter, more than 50 Senators have signed a letter promising to vote for the reconciliation fixes immediately. This could very well encourage a couple of House Dems to support Pelosi’s present strategy (vote for the Senate bill as a separate item) and move into the ‘yes’ column.
A couple is all we need.
***Update***
Did Steny Hoyer just declare that he has the votes to pass the damn bill? Someone translate from twitterish.
BTW, this is why I don’t twitter. It is fucking addictive.
***Update 2***
Someone make me stop updating Ezra’s twitter stream.
KagroX RT @AlanColmes:Palin Concerned Obama’s Lack Of Experience Has Him “Over His Head” On #hcr http://bit.ly/bsRCbe || Written all the way up arm
wonkroom Managers amendment is only 9 pages. Hope Republicans can read it in just 24 hours. http://moourl.com/0mqel
snerk.
***Update 3***
Obama speaking live on CSPAN. Discuss.
jeffreyw
That is good news.
jeffreyw
According to that age test thingy in the left sidebar, I’m 105. I guess they figure if you can take the test you are alive else they may have played a dirge.
scav
@jeffreyw: well then, happy birthday and I’ll try to arrange that you get a letter from the Queen!
South of I-10
Tim, thanks for everything you are doing. I would buy you a beer if I could. Maybe JefferyW could get you a picture of one. :)
HRA
I saw Steny Hoyer on TV moments ago. Yes, he said they have the votes. Even Dana Millbank conceded to it. LOL
Citizen_X
@jeffreyw: Whatever you do, don’t die until after tomorrow. After 105 years, you want to survive long enough to see us pass health care!
AxelFoley
@jeffreyw:
For McCain?
K. Grant
Who will this satisfy the most in the House? Leary progressive types? The bloody tide has changed so many times that I am uncertain what means what in regard to all of this.
mr. whipple
forgive me for C/P from the end of the thread below, but three more yeses!
YES
Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) will vote YES… Solid GOP district and part of Stupak group… /via @politicojosh
http://twitter.com/pwire
ANOTHER!
RT @ThePlumLineGS: Henry Cuellar, who famously ducked POTUS’s calls, will vote Yes on Senate bill: http://bit.ly/aL0NeV
http://twitter.com/jeffreyyoung_hc
YES
Rep DeFazio tells me he “brought a hardball bat to the hardball game” to what he wanted on Medicare $ in #hcr. He’s a yes
http://twitter.com/todd_zwillich
Corner Stone
@K. Grant:
Any D with a brain who is in a neutral or slightly +R district – or better.
Point being, this is going to be straight balls to get D’s elected/re-elected in November.
Joseph Nobles
As twitterer rkref says, if they’ve dropped “deem and pass”, it means they’re confident they can pass it without. Good news.
minachica
My twitter has a bunch of “yes” votes rolling in: Carney (PA), Cuellar (TX), and even DeFazio switching from “no” to “yes”.
Too many links to post…
ETA: I guess I’m both slower and lazier than mr.whipple.
mr. whipple
Obama speaking live to Dems:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
mr. whipple
Potus getting huge ovation!
I may start crying…
mcc
Arcuri’s phones are STILL constantly busy after two days.
Tried to call Teague‘s office. The DC office did not answer their phones; guess they’re not in. I tried calling a local Teague office (apparently Teague is the representative for Roswell?): “This mailbox is now full”. Heh.
Teague’s funny because like Stephen Lynch Teague’s trying to co-opt FDL-style rhetoric about how the bill will help insurance companies more than normal people and pretend this is why he’s voting against it. Except it doesn’t really work because whereas when FDL or Dennis Kucinich makes that argument you know that these people really did spend months or years fighting for a public option and other provisions that would weaken insurance companies, Teague like Lynch has no history of this and in fact opposed the public option. Like Lynch, Teague seems to be pretty clearly lying about his motivations to cover up the fact he’s a Stupaker. I guess at least there’s a victory here that the Stupak faction has been made so unpopular its members have to pretend not to be in it.
rikyrah
there’s Pelosi…designer duds and nary a hair out of place..
GO NANCY!!
Violet
This is so exciting! I might start crying too.
Corner Stone
@Joseph Nobles:
As I just said in another thread – I think “deem and pass” was always for show.
mcc
@mr. whipple: Awesome, thanks! I had heard this was going to happen but didn’t know if it would be televised.
I’m a little confused by this link. When I open it two separate audio streams start playing? Then if I press “pause”, one audio stream stops and the other continues. But it seems like the two streams are the same stream only one is delayed. All very Steve Reich. Maybe this is a problem with Safari? Anyway, it’s working (though it’s still audio only, is anyone else getting video?)
jeffreyw
@South of I-10: Sigh, no beer here. How about a nice steak dinner?
mr. whipple
@mcc:
Cspan 1 has video.
Alex S.
Wow….it will be done….
rikyrah
I love Reid’s basketball analogy.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
The leadership is happy (watching MSNBC) “the greatest caucus in the history of this great country– THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS!”
I’m gonna agree with them for the moment.
mr. whipple
Steny is going thru the history of FAIL.
We have now overcome.
Malron
Damn, David Waldman has a big ass head.
mcc
Reid actually made a pretty good basketball analogy! It was a really odd feeling to be hearing Harry Reid’s voice and not be rolling my eyes
SIA
Watching on CSPN. Feel surprisingly emotional.
Go Nancy Go!
Martian Buddy
Good. That means my hypocritical asshat of a Rep. can shut his yap about the “upperdown vote” now.
mr. whipple
Damn.
guhm61
Obama on now on Cspan
Violet
I’m an Obot. Yes I am!
mr. whipple
@Violet:
Me, too.
JGabriel
Politico, House GOP Freshmen Offer Dire Warnings:
I’m so pleased by the GOP’s concern for Democratic electoral prospects, It’s so touching.
.
demo woman
Yesterday someone had the analogy that the President was like a boa constrictor.. I want to mention again that was a great analogy.
David
What a great speaker!
Corner Stone
Obama is either about to cry, or can’t find the teleprompter.
I keed, I keed.
Leelee for Obama
@mr. whipple: I am crying and thinking of Teddy Kennedy and somewhere came the thought that Moses didn’t get to see the Promised Land either-so he’s in good company, no?
History, my friends, history. We’re privileged to watch it being made!
JGabriel
@K. Grant:
Leery centrists and “moderate” conservadems who are worried about process more than results.
.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Heh. Obama mocking GOP Concern Trollery
Violet
@JGabriel:
It’s so cute when the Republicans concern troll.
Obama is calling out Republicans on their concern trolling right now. Very smart President.
YellowJournalism
Hee. “Friendly advice”.
Holy crap. Calling them out by name.
“Lo and behold, no one’s pulling the plug on granny.” Love him.
Tim F.
Professor Obama explains concern trolling. Nicely played, sir.
Tonal Crow
I sure hope it happens, but will wait for the vote to scroll by at http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/index.asp before popping the champagne.
However it goes, good work ‘Juicers! And a special thanks to Tim F. for the daily whip!
demo woman
I love that some reps brought their children with them. They were there when history was made. How cool is that…
Leelee for Obama
@demo woman: My thought too. What lucky kids they are!
geg6
I couldn’t be prouder of Nancy Pelosi. I’m just beaming at what a great Speaker she is. I am just humbled by her brilliance, and ruthlessness, and grit in running this process. She is my hero forever.
mr. whipple
And I have to say I don’t think it was a coincidence that last night, and again just as Obama was arriving, more yes votes were announced.
They are showing they can get their acts and optics together.
mr. whipple
@geg6:
Hell yes. If the DNC calls this afternoon, they’ll have much better luck with me than the last few months. LOL.
mcc
What was Obama’s one-sentence summary of the bill there?
“This is the most stringent insurance reform in history.” ?
Violet
@geg6:
Me too. She’s teh awesome! Best damn Speaker in decades, maybe ever. Go Nancy!
Martin
You know, I’m not real big on demonizing my fellow citizens, but I really wouldn’t mind if a russian satellite fell on some of these teapartiers.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Tim F.: I thought it was hilarious!
Violet
Obama: “This bill is a vast improvement on the status quo.”
This.
Yes.
Tim F.
@Martin: I just hope that someone caught video of that and the protestors calling John Lewis, a civil rights hero, the N-word. I wasn’t even born during civil rights and some of those black & white photos and videos are nonetheless burned into my memory.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
sound like the loose ends have been tied up, or enough of them anyways. Buck Fart Stupak. And somebody drive a stake through the FDL heart, if you can find one. geesh, the bullshit from over there has likely made even Karl Rove blush.
Violet
@Litlebritdifrnt:
You watching the rugby? I’m relegated to the computer for the politics stuff. Lol.
mr. whipple
Strong moral close.
geg6
Martin @52: Did you read the whole article on the teabagging assholes menacing Dem reps? It just shows you what these people are about. It’s not about HCR or taxes or anything policy based. It’s pure hate and resentment and anger. It’s really about their fear of women and gays and “other” people. It’s sad and frightening and outrageous all at once. These people are simply psychotic and sociopathic. No question about that in my mind.
South of I-10
@jeffreyw: Are you going to marinate it in wingnut tears?
Violet
Awesome mention of Betsy Markey and the local paper. Just awesome.
Lesson: Stand up for Democratic principles and goals and people come around. Smart, smart, smart.
shilohsmama
“I believe good policy is good politics”. – – President Barack Obama
mr. whipple
@Violet:
Yes, he’s got their back, and we have to, also.
denverjeninpdx
@Leelee for Obama:
I am already tearing up. Did you have to bring Ted Kennedy into it? :)
We really are watching history, kids. First Nov. 2008 and now healthcare 2010. Wow.
Thank you Tim for rallying everyone here. I did call DeGette even though she is a yes. The staffers were happy to hear a positive voice, especially because she is part of the pro-choice caucus. I love it that I have been able to vote for this woman twice!
Litlebritdifrnt
@Violet:
I cannot believe that I am watching CNN instead of the Six Nations on BBCAmerica!
Corner Stone
This close better pick up the pace a little. It’s back and forth.
demkat620
Oh, I want to see this vote tomorrow.
216 baby, 216.
Please god, let john Boehner cry again. Please!
I won’t say the f word for the rest of the year. Please?
mr. whipple
He’s really bringing this home.
JCT
And it goes without saying guys, that when they pull this off and end this deep embarrassment and moral failing (that tens of millions of people in this country cannot obtain medical care) — we all need to be ready to get out there and fight for our representatives who will be marked for defeat by the GOP / Tea Party lunatics this Fall. Payback.
Oh, except for Stupak. He can rot.
rikyrah
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/88041-cbc-member-says-health-bill-protesters-called-rep-lewis-the-n-word
Corner Stone
@demkat620:
Fuck that.
demo woman
I’m not shedding tears but my body is covered with goosebumps. What are the odds that Fox is covering this? lol
Xenos
@mcc:
This sounds like damning with faint praise, but I’ll take it.
Violet
@Litlebritdifrnt:
I’m doing both. Cspan on computer, BBCA for the rugby. Life is good!
Man, Obama knows how to give a speech and rally the troops. I’m about to cry. This is historic.
thomas Levenson
@demkat620: Share hopes on John Boehner. On the other — don’t make promises you won’t keep.
jeffreyw
@South of I-10: none of those in this house, there may be others, damn he’s a good one
Litlebritdifrnt
threatening gun violence now!
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/20/code-red-gun/
mr. whipple
Fired up!
mcc
And now: Huuuuuuugs
licensed to kill time
Whew, that was awesome-sauce indeed! I need a cigarette…
GoooooooooooooooooooooOBAMA!
Violet
Our President is amazing. Obot, right here!
Frank
The American people respect strength.Hell the opposition respects strength.Passing this bill will put the Democrats in a healthier position.I know my respect for Pelosi and Reid has skyrocketed.Obama is showing that you can stand up to the Republican shriek ‘n slime machine-and win.
mcc
@mr. whipple: That moment was amazing. I’ve watched that little call and response dozens of times, still somehow startling to see it being done by a bunch of 60 year old politicians
Violet
@Frank:
This.
It’s no coincidence that even Harry Reid’s approval ratings have gone up in the last week or so. If they get this done, it’ll really help all the Dem’s re-election chances.
Tim F.
@Violet: If they get this done it will completely rewrite the narrative. I doubt that trends until today will have much or any relevance at that point.
wmd
I’ve been over at FDL today. There’s a thread on a possible Executive Order that could bring some of the Stupak block to vote yes. I swear the comments are sure any EO will overturn Roe v Wade… no one pays any attention to points I’ve made that it is more likely to re-affirm that the Hyde Amendment will apply to HCR.
It strikes me that the majority at FDL is caught in resentment politics – Orthogonians are upset with how legislation actually gets passed. Congress isn’t listening to us and we’re the left grassroots that elected you. Whine, cry, get angry. And it keeps getting whipped up. I hope this changes soon.
Jane can be a damn fine organizer. After a time out for her to handle the emotional aftermath of losing her battles she can be valuable for pushing progressive ideas again.
Martin
@geg6: That’s what it’s always been about. Before it was the GOP, it was southern Democrats, but there’s always been a group of people in this country just scared shitless of change.
mr. whipple
From Ezra’s twitter:
“Asked WH for text on Prez’s speech. They said it wasn’t pre-written. He was just talking. It’s like there’s a teleprompter IN HIS BRAIN.”
Yutsano
@mr. whipple: Oh snap! The wingnuts lose another talking point in a single Tweet. Teh awesome, it burns!
Violet
@Tim F.:
Completely agree. Once the narrative is “This Congress gets things done.” it’ll be an entirely different kettle of fish. Well, that and the fact that the whole country hasn’t imploded once health care has passed.
Martin
@rikyrah: Ok, can we please be adults about this and just say ‘nigger’. We all know what ‘n-word’ refers to. If you’re going to report that someone called Lewis a nigger, just say ‘nigger’. He knows the word, he was called it daily. They beat him with riot clubs near the point of death, I’m sure he (and the rest of us) can handle an honestly reported headline.
Protecting people’s delicate sensibilities just drives me fucking crazy.
Violet
@mr. whipple:
Awesome! I was watching the CSpan feed and it sure didn’t look like there was a teleprompter to be found. Nor did it look like he was reading from notes.
Our President is smart.
Martin
@mr. whipple:
Ok, that’s really fucking funny.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@wmd:
Obama’s secret opposition to abortion rights is one of the key tenets of PUMAology
mcc
Executive orders and signing statements, as originally used, were uncontroversial, reasonable instruments of government. The idea is that often legislation is ambiguous in places or contains mild contradictions; legislation doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to pass. Once it’s passed though it’s the executive’s job usually to actually enforce it, so the executive has to make a first pass at interpreting what the legislation means. Signing statements used correctly provide direction to the rest of the executive branch on how a particular piece of legislation is to be implemented, within the bounds set by the legislation’s text. This is particularly reasonable when a piece of legislation either explicitly gives the executive leeway in implementation or directs the executive to direct a rule– as, incidentally, the current health care legislation does.
The reason EOs and signing statements have become controversial this last decade is because George W. Bush misused them, using the signing statements not to fill in gaps in the legislation but rather to actually rewrite the legislation or direct his underlings to disregard parts of the legislation. This doesn’t mean the tool itself is a bad one, it just means that Bush misused the tool or that possibly there need to be more explicit limits on the tool’s procedure.
Either way one reasonable use of a signing statement might be if the President were to recognize that existing U.S. law bars federal funding of abortion and the new health care legislation as written does not change that, and specifically give direction to the rest of the executive that in implementing the new health care legislation the government should not federally fund abortions. Because there is nothing in the health care legislation that funds abortions this wouldn’t actually make any real world difference, but it might make certain lightly-informed citizens and their representatives feel better.
The Sheriff's A Ni-
@Martin: I’m not changing my nom de plume.
Yutsano
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh jeez. He says that he thinks abortion should be safe, legal, and rare, and he suddenly is a misogynistic DINO. I guess I fall under the same category as I agree with that position totally. It is nowhere near saying that abortion is wrong (that’s not my place to say as I’ll never have one) and that it should be illegal.
licensed to kill time
@The Sheriff’s A Ni-:
“The Sheriff’s An N-word” just doesn’t have the same zing.
Martin
@The Sheriff’s A Ni-: In your case, it’s perfectly accurate, however. So no, please don’t change.
Chyron HR
@wmd:
Nobody point out that Jane was calling Bart the greatest living Democrat yesterday, because that would be mean old hippie-punching. D:
wmd
@Chyron HR:
Do you have a citation?
Mike Kay
@wmd:
This is why they’ve become the mirror of the Teabaggers. They hate Obama for different reasons, but they underlying connection is resentment. For the Firebaggers and PUMAs they resent that their favorite candidate (Edwards or Hillary) lost to someone no one had ever heard off.
I mean, do you think the Firebaggers would be screaming bloody murder if Saint Edwards was passing this very same bill.
Mike Kay
@wmd:
here’s the citation
https://balloon-juice.com/2010/03/18/dennis-steps-up/#comment-1631647
HRA
Too many underestimate our president’s abilities. Of course I am an Obot.
A damn dirty shame that John Lewis in his later years has to be subjected to the same scurrilous type of idiots from his younger years.
I do not forget what Barney Frank experienced either. I am related to and have worked with gay people for a long time. Those who attack them have not had the pleasure of knowing them as I have known them.
K. Grant
@Mike Kay: Quite true.
Of course, if their sainted dreamboat had won the nomination, we would now all be suffering under the torments of President Walnuts, as Edwards’ delightful extra-curricular activities would have produced the ugliest of 1984-like routs of the Democratic party in a presidential election.
Mike Kay
@mr. whipple:
You big lug
wmd
@Mike Kay:
I do think they’d be screaming. The resentment is partly based in how ugly lobbying and campaign finance makes the legislative process work. The process is ugly. Insurance companies will make out well under HCR, and that seems unjust – insurance companies are blamed for a lot of the current problems with health care and with good reason. That they will profit under reform makes the resentment a very natural emotional response.
And part of the screaming is because Jane invested a lot of emotional capital in the Public Option and she’s lost that fight. She can tie that personal loss in with the natural resentment of insurance companies and get some personal egoboo from a big chunk of her readers.
wmd
@Mike Kay:
Thanks. Not quite the same as Chyron’s paraphrase
… but she does give him props for sticking to his BS convictions.
Mike Kay
@K. Grant: Exactly. During the primary, all of the Firebaggers (Edwards dead enders) and PUMAs couldn’t stop praising them for championing mandates. Now, they’re tearing their follicles out over mandates.
Pasquinade
speaking of Twitter, Roger Ebert got a tweet from Palin
http://twitter.com/ebertchicago
SarahPalinUSA: Shocking new questions re:whether military healthcare plans r protected under Obamacare.How will underpaid troops afford their own purchase?
ebertchicago: (see previous tweet) Dear @SarahPalinUSA: How will underpaid Americans with preexisting conditions afford insurance???
Mike Kay
@wmd: If insurance companies are going to make out well, then why did they finance all those ugly ads opposing HCR?
As for Jane’s organization skills – what has she ever accomplished?
K. Grant
Is the video of the speech posted somewhere? I did not get a chance to watch it live.
Mike Kay
@K. Grant:
here ya go.
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/03/20/HP/R/30882/WEEKEND+DEBATE+ON+HEALTH+CARE+BEGINS.aspx
eemom
Just to clarify some history, FDL was never a champion of Edwards in the primaries. What it was, was a stunning spectacle of hypocrisy wherein Jane purported to be “neutral,” but meanwhile took every opportunity to bash Obama, Edwards, and anyone else who criticized Hillary as “misogynists.” That was kind of the precursor to her current smears of anyone who disagrees with her as a paid Pharma troll or an insurance industry shill.
It was very fucking obvious that she hoped Hillary would win, imo because she envisioned her lovely self as the next Dana Perino, or something along those lines. When that didn’t happen the claws
came out big time, just like they are now because she didn’t get to be Princess Public Option.
Again, there is nothing to Jane Hamsher except a fierce, furious megalomaniacal drive for self-aggrandizement. Nothing.
Mike Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Jane was also one of the first creeps to push that lie, when she was supporting Saint Edwards.
Firebaggers and PUMAs – two sides of the same coin.
cathaireverywhere
Sent a fax to Jim Costa, who is the district right next to mine. (have already wasted my time contacting my Rep, “the new Newt”) I thanked hi for his yes vote and told him he has my vote if he ever runs for senate. Thanks for the fax info- I tried calling over and over both at the DC and CA offices, but got nothing but a busy signal.
Mike Kay
@eemom:
This!
wmd
@Mike Kay:
Doing the public option whipping and donation the past summer was good work.
That it ultimately didn’t achieve its objective is irrelevant, getting all that data, getting the commitments of Congresspeople was good in and of itself.
Hiring Marcy Wheeler is another good thing Jane has done. Marcy does some of the best research in the blogosphere.
FDL has put me in touch with people that I work with on political activities elsewhere. Because of connections made there some advocacy and education work will be getting done that I couldn’t have accomplished without those connections.
I agree that Jane can get pretty ugly with those she disagrees with. I’ve been attacked by her personally due to my skepticism of her attacks on biosimilar exclusivity language, and in particular how my Congresswoman responded to Jane and UCSF Med students. I’ve got some research skills (MS in CSCI, MA in Math and lots of outside studies) and I responded in depth to Jane, she took that as me being a paid PhRMA troll and asked her mods to ban me. Her mods knew I wasn’t and calmed her down.
FlipYrWhig
@Mike Kay: I wish there were a term to apply to the Aravosis crowd. Because that was the first place on my map that went plumb loco about Obama’s stealthy conservative/bigoted/Christian/sexist/heterosexist agenda. He has to be kicking himself that all that pub went to Hamsher instead of him.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@FlipYrWhig: aravholes?
I never really read him, except for the occasional link. Isn’t he an ex-log-cabiner?
rikyrah
James Clyburn’s response to the teabaggers:
they are who we thought they were:
a bunch of lowdown, nogood mofos.
Mike Kay
@wmd: You mean Anna Esho isn’t a murder?
wmd
@Mike Kay:
I’m not happy with Eshoo.
She was very deliberate in using ambiguous language in legislation that could be better – in fact the language adopted by the HELP committee has better language on “evergreen” exclusivity. Her staff and I had a few emails back and forth, I was told Eshoo would contact me directly about it and got a boilerplate “We’ve passed healthcare” email from her… actually 3 copies of the same boilerplate and no engagement on issues.
When a constituent bothers to engage with staff at a congresswoman’s office, is knowledgable and offers germane criticism it seems to me that it is very disrespectful to not address the substance of their critiques. Hence I’m not happy with Anna Eshoo. Of the four people I’ve had representing me she is tied with Baron Hill for last place in quality of representation.
I still have been calling her and expressing my support for PTDB.