**HEADS UP** Reid, Bacus, Harkin And Dodd Holding Press Conference At 10:45 A.M. ET

[jefferson_dem]

n/t

[Lerkfish]

1. great

so the reconciliation is dead.

[IndianaGreen]

2. They are going to ram this piece of crap down the House's throat

I don't think AFl-CIO and SEIU are going to accept this limited conference.

[jefferson_dem]

3. Live now.

n/t

[IndianaGreen]

4. Compromise principles to meet an artificial deadline by White House and...

give Obama his bloody Christmas photo up.

Bullocks!

[PassingFair]

5. It sickens me that Harkin is in on this.

Sad.

[ShortnFiery]

7. Harkin et. al. democrats have "lost touch" with the Average American. eom

[HughMoran]

10. It's a shame that he wants to help people in need

After all, we're the right-wing here on DU and hate poor sick people.

[PassingFair]

15. Right, it warms my heart to see him standing with such heroes as Reid and Baucus.

:puke:

[HughMoran]

23. & Weiner & Sanders & Kerry & Harkin & Vicky Kennedy on behalf of Ted

It's easy to point to the least appealing people and say "see!!!", but you don't have an answer for our most progressive Congressmen supporting this.

[ShortnFiery]

26. Yeah, we've got all the Political Royals represented. Why did we bother with the Revolutionary War.

:grr:

[PassingFair]

35. I was reiterating the names in the OP...

oh, did I forget Chris "Counrtywide" Dodd?

[ShortnFiery]

24. He wants to help his own pocketbook. Mr. 4% interest - 5 years ago. He's connected

to the Health Insurance and Banksters up to his eyeballs. :grr:

[Armstead]

11. I called his office and asked not to support that bad parts of the bill

Oh well

[jefferson_dem]

13. I understand your feelings of cognitive dissonance.

Must suck to see so many of our heros on the opposite side of an issue. Maybe it's time to reconsider?

[HughMoran]

27. heh - 90% of the rigid ones simply dig in deeper when confronted with cognitive dissonance

It should be embarrassing for these people:)

[PassingFair]

39. The congnitive dissonance comes from swallowing this bill as a fix.

Kind of like the "No Child Left Behind" legislation.

Mandates with no financial control.

Except this is WORSE because education costs don't
increase like medical and insurance costs and premiums.

[Dinger]

6. Unrec (nt)

[jefferson_dem]

18. Only on DU...

A thread about Democratic leaders discussing the imminent passage of a healthcare reform bill that all Democratic Senators will support and (probably) all Repug Senators oppose is unrec'd.

[natrat]

37. check in aftert the midterms-mandate w/ no cost control=democratic wipeout

[Undercurrent]

8. Thank you.

Watching now.

[HughMoran]

9. They are very solemn

They recognize the seriousness of this issue.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Invoking Ted Kennedy's name to plea for support for this POS of a bill

is really bad manners.

[Undercurrent]

14. Why?

Ted's wife supports it, and I am sure she knew Ted's heart better than anyone.

[IndianaGreen]

19. Because it is the equivalent of invoking 9-11 to justify new wars or escalating old wars

A cheap political trick!

[Undercurrent]

29. 9/11? Not.

Even assuming it's equivalent, which it's isn't, I guess you think the wives of 9/11 have no right to speak out either.

Or maybe you think you have some special insight into Ted's heart and mind that his wife doesn't.




The moment Ted Kennedy would not want to lose

By Victoria Reggie Kennedy
Sunday, December 20, 2009

My late husband, Ted Kennedy, was passionate about health-care reform. It was the cause of his life. He believed that health care for all our citizens was a fundamental right, not a privilege, and that this year the stars -- and competing interests -- were finally aligned to allow our nation to move forward with fundamental reform. He believed that health-care reform was essential to the financial stability of our nation's working families and of our economy as a whole.

Still, Ted knew that accomplishing reform would be difficult. If it were easy, he told me, it would have been done a long time ago. He predicted that as the Senate got closer to a vote, compromises would be necessary, coalitions would falter and many ardent supporters of reform would want to walk away. He hoped that they wouldn't do so. He knew from experience, he told me, that this kind of opportunity to enact health-care reform wouldn't arise again for a generation.

more... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121803506.html

[IndianaGreen]

30. Mrs. Kennedy has the right to voice her opinion, but she is very rich

and she enjoys the health care coverage her late husband had as a member of Congress.

[Undercurrent]

32. Just like

her husband Ted did. I for one trusted Ted. Rich or no. Insured or not. I trusted him on health care.

[IndianaGreen]

34. It has become a class issue

and while the ruling class is divided, they always close ranks when it comes to preserving the for-profit system at the expense of the working class.

[Undercurrent]

40. The shame

is not on Ted's wife Vicki, or one of Ted's best friends, and the one Ted chose to continue the work on this bill when Ted could no longer do so, Dodd. The shame is on those who would imply that on health care Ted Kennedy would "close ranks when it comes to preserving the for-profit system at the expense of the working class." because he was rich.

Personally, I remain a supporter of Ted's memory, and his legacy of the good works he accomplished on our behalf.

[jefferson_dem]

17. Tell that to Vicki.

Surely, you know better than Vicki, Dodd, Harkin, et al.

[Armstead]

16. Sen. Harkin, it is a "starter home" built on mud

[IndianaGreen]

21. William Golding's The Spire comes to mind n/t

[alsame]

20. Luke Russert is MSNBC's healthcare expert? That would be very

funny if it wasn't so damn sad.

[ShortnFiery]

22. The M$M are pathetic corporate assholes ... and they don't even CARE what we think.

THEY (the M$M) manufactures their OWN OPINIONS and calls it "the peoples' view."

I loathe the M$M with very few but notable exceptions (KO, RM and Ed).

[alsame]

28. Exactly right. nt

[freddie mertz]

25. Unrec for the entire Dem Senate Caucus.

Is there no one who will stand against this monstrosity?

[jenmito]

31. Rec. for the entire Dem. Caucus.

[jefferson_dem]

33. ***"Kill the Billers" might be interested - Asshat McConnell is up now...talking shit.

n/t

[NewLIfeArea]

36. McConnell said

blah blah blah blah blah

[jenmito]

38. "They're trying to jam this through in the middle of the night on the weekend before Christmas..."

All they do is complain about how the Dems. are "rushing this through." Yeah-since May. :eyes: