It Looks Like Democrats Have Cloture On Health Care
Barely, and with the key swing vote (Senator Blanche Lincoln) saying that she’ll filibuster the bill if it includes a “public option.”
WASHINGTON—Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a centrist Democrat from Arkansas, said Saturday she would vote to move forward with debate on health-care legislation, giving Democrats what appeared to be the 60 votes needed to bring the sweeping bill to the Senate floor for debate.
Sen. Lincoln, who faces a tough reelection battle next year, said it is “important that we begin this debate” and not “simply drop the issue and walk away.” She added a bit later: “I’m not afraid of that debate.”
Her comments came few hours after Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.) said she would vote to move forward with debate, and a day after Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) said he, too, would vote to move forward. The three senators had all been undecided for weeks, casting doubt on the vote planned for Saturday on whether to proceed.
The vote, likely later Saturday, will be the first test in the full Senate for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who unveiled his bill Wednesday night. He needs the votes of all 58 Senate Democrats, plus two independents allied with the party, to overcome a Republican filibuster on the question of whether to proceed with the bill. The legislation would overhaul the nation’s health-care system and extend insurance to 31 million Americans now without coverage.
Not happy news for those concerned with freedom, independence and national fiscal solvency. But even so, this bill has a long way to go in the Senate.
