The politics of hubris, tyranny, and bribery.
The Senate passed a health insurance overhaul on Thursday morning, 60-39, as both Democrats and Republicans held unified in their positions on the massive bill that mandates coverage for about 9 percent of the U.S. population.
All 58 Democrats and two independents supported the $871 billion, 10-year package that aims to cover about 30 million Americans. Thirty-nine of 40 Republicans rejected the bill. Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, did not vote.
Senate lawmakers moved quickly after the vote to one more bill — a hike in the debt ceiling needed to prevent a U.S. default on loans — passing it on a 60-39 vote before scattering across the nation ahead of their Christmas break.
……Now that both the House of Representatives and Senate have finished their votes — the House passed its version in November — the two chambers must reconcile their starkly different bills.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/24/senate-poised-pass-health-care-reform/
That debt ceiling, by the way, has been increased from $290 billion to $12.4 trillion.
How they voted:
| HOW THEY VOTED | YES VOTES | NO VOTES | ||||
![[arrow]](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/test/stantonl/votechart/arrowright80.gif) |
| Vote | Member | Party | State | Campaign contributions from health industry | Percent in state without insurance 5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Leahy, Patrick Joseph | D | VT | $250,515 |
|
10.2% |
|
|
| Yes | Sanders, Bernard | I | VT | $134,386 |
|
10.2% |
|
|
| Yes | Reed, John F. | D | RI | $772,538 |
|
10.4% |
|
|
| Yes | Whitehouse, Sheldon | D | RI | $128,249 |
|
10.4% |
|
|
| No | Gregg, Judd Alan | R | NH | $1,019,534 |
|
10.7% |
|
|
| Yes | Shaheen, Jeanne | D | NH | $356,582 |
|
10.7% |
|
|
| Yes | Brown, Sherrod Campbell | D | OH | $2,762,327 |
|
11.1% |
|
|
| Not Voting | Voinovich, George Victor | R | OH | $1,229,667 |
|
11.1% |
|
|
| Yes | Levin, Carl | D | MI | $662,726 |
|
11.3% |
|
|
| Yes | Stabenow, Deborah Ann | D | MI | $1,410,276 |
|
11.3% |
|
|
| Yes | Carper, Thomas Richard | D | DE | $702,240 |
|
11.4% |
|
|
| Yes | Kaufman, Edward E.(Ted) | D | DE | $0 |
|
11.4% |
|
|
| Yes | Johnson, Timothy Peter | D | SD | $1,013,335 |
|
11.5% |
|
|
| No | Thune, John | R | SD | $1,248,742 |
|
11.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Bayh, Birch Evans | D | IN | $1,423,685 |
|
11.8% |
|
|
| Yes | Cantwell, Maria E. | D | WA | $565,826 |
|
11.8% |
|
|
| No | Lugar, Richard Green | R | IN | $1,126,440 |
|
11.8% |
|
|
| Yes | Murray, Patty | D | WA | $937,368 |
|
11.8% |
|
|
| No | Brownback, Samuel Dale | R | KS | $710,057 |
|
12.4% |
|
|
| No | Roberts, Charles Patrick | R | KS | $1,039,937 |
|
12.4% |
|
|
| No | Burr, Richard Mauze | R | NC | $2,592,044 |
|
12.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Hagan, Kay | D | NC | $199,975 |
|
12.5% |
|
|
| No | Bond, Christopher Samuel | R | MO | $1,246,551 |
|
12.8% |
|
|
| Yes | McCaskill, Claire | D | MO | $370,400 |
|
12.8% |
|
|
| No | Sessions, Jefferson Beauregard III | R | AL | $1,205,278 |
|
13% |
|
|
| No | Shelby, Richard C. | R | AL | $972,188 |
|
13% |
|
|
| Yes | Cardin, Benjamin Louis | D | MD | $1,620,397 |
|
13.2% |
|
|
| Yes | Mikulski, Barbara Ann | D | MD | $978,462 |
|
13.2% |
|
|
| Yes | Burris, Roland Wallace | D | IL | $5,750 |
|
13.4% |
|
|
| Yes | Durbin, Richard Joseph | D | IL | $1,490,265 |
|
13.4% |
|
|
| Yes | Warner, Mark | D | VA | $862,141 |
|
13.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Webb, James H. | D | VA | $160,369 |
|
13.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Gillibrand, Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik | D | NY | $270,853 |
|
13.8% |
|
|
| Yes | Schumer, Charles Ellis | D | NY | $1,840,508 |
|
13.8% |
|
|
| No | Barrasso, John Anthony | R | WY | $699,347 |
|
13.9% |
|
|
| No | Enzi, Michael BBradley | R | WY | $846,427 |
|
13.9% |
|
|
| Yes | Byrd, Robert Carlyle | D | WV | $253,025 |
|
14.2% |
|
|
| Yes | Rockefeller, John Davison IV | D | WV | $1,710,629 |
|
14.2% |
|
|
| No | Alexander, Andrew Lamar | R | TN | $2,448,908 |
|
14.4% |
|
|
| No | Corker, Robert Phillips | R | TN | $1,107,224 |
|
14.4% |
|
|
| No | Bennett, Robert Foster | R | UT | $608,546 |
|
14.5% |
|
|
| No | Hatch, Orrin Grant | R | UT | $3,051,635 |
|
14.5% |
|
|
| No | Bunning, James Paul David | R | KY | $1,136,387 |
|
15.0% |
|
|
| No | Crapo, Michael Dean | R | ID | $908,241 |
|
15.0% |
|
|
| No | McConnell, Addison Mitchell | R | KY | $3,187,818 |
|
15.0% |
|
|
| No | Risch, James | R | ID | $94,200 |
|
15.0% |
|
|
| Yes | Lautenberg, Frank Raleigh | D | NJ | $839,372 |
|
15.1% |
|
|
| Yes | Menéndez, Robert | D | NJ | $1,480,001 |
|
15.1% |
|
|
| No | DeMint, James W. | R | SC | $1,217,378 |
|
16.1% |
|
|
| No | Graham, Lindsey Olin | R | SC | $1,215,587 |
|
16.1% |
|
|
| Yes | Baucus, Max Sieben | D | MT | $3,902,881 |
|
16.3% |
|
|
| Yes | Tester, Jon | D | MT | $203,700 |
|
16.3% |
|
|
| Yes | Bennet, Michael Farrand | D | CO | $63,020 |
|
16.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Udall, Mark | D | CO | $781,787 |
|
16.5% |
|
|
| No | Coburn, Thomas Allen | R | OK | $1,319,230 |
|
16.9% |
|
|
| No | Inhofe, James Mountain | R | OK | $628,725 |
|
16.9% |
|
|
| Yes | Merkley, Jeff | D | OR | $152,067 |
|
17.0% |
|
|
| Yes | Wyden, Ronald Lee | D | OR | $1,540,963 |
|
17.0% |
|
|
| Yes | Lincoln, Blanche Lambert | D | AR | $2,123,458 |
|
17.6% |
|
|
| Yes | Pryor, Mark | D | AR | $442,811 |
|
17.6% |
|
|
| No | Chambliss, Clarence Saxby | R | GA | $1,690,633 |
|
17.7% |
|
|
| No | Isakson, Johnny | R | GA | $970,383 |
|
17.7% |
|
|
| Yes | Begich, Mark P. | D | AK | $115,733 |
|
18.2% |
|
|
| No | Murkowski, Lisa | R | AK | $397,333 |
|
18.2% |
|
|
| Yes | Boxer, Barbara Levy | D | CA | $1,279,043 |
|
18.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Conrad, Kent | D | ND | $1,596,763 |
|
18.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Dorgan, Byron Leslie | D | ND | $584,950 |
|
18.5% |
|
|
| No | Ensign, John Eric | R | NV | $2,084,249 |
|
18.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Feinstein, Dianne Goldman Berman | D | CA | $1,444,922 |
|
18.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Reid, Harry | D | NV | $2,259,001 |
|
18.5% |
|
|
| No | Cochran, William Thad | R | MS | $666,650 |
|
19.1% |
|
|
| No | Wicker, Roger F. | R | MS | $962,875 |
|
19.1% |
|
|
| No | Kyl, Jon Llewellyn | R | AZ | $2,339,968 |
|
19.6% |
|
|
| No | McCain, John Sidney | R | AZ | $9,027,044 |
|
19.6% |
|
|
| Yes | Landrieu, Mary L. | D | LA | $1,329,872 |
|
20.1% |
|
|
| No | Vitter, David | R | LA | $1,156,530 |
|
20.1% |
|
|
| No | Lemieux, George S. | R | FL | $0 |
|
20.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Nelson, Clarence William | D | FL | $1,262,160 |
|
20.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Bingaman, Jesse Francis | D | NM | $867,841 |
|
23.0% |
|
|
| No | Johanns, Mike | R | NE | $237,507 |
|
23.0% |
|
|
| Yes | Nelson, Earl Benjamin | D | NE | $1,266,766 |
|
23.0% |
|
|
| Yes | Udall, Thomas | D | NM | $380,451 |
|
23.0% |
|
|
| No | Cornyn, John | R | TX | $2,122,353 |
|
24.9% |
|
|
| No | Hutchison, Kathyrn Ann Bailey | R | TX | $1,440,988 |
|
24.9% |
|
|
| Yes | Kerry, John Forbes | D | MA | $8,344,060 |
|
7.1% |
|
|
| Yes | Kirk, Paul G. | D | MA | $0 |
|
7.1% |
|
|
| Yes | Akaka, Daniel Kahikina | D | HI | $224,160 |
|
8.1% |
|
|
| Yes | Inouye, Daniel Ken | D | HI | $401,751 |
|
8.1% |
|
|
| Yes | Franken, Al | D | MN | $362,060 |
|
8.7% |
|
|
| Yes | Klobuchar, Amy | D | MN | $322,795 |
|
8.7% |
|
|
| Yes | Feingold, Russell Dana | D | WI | $1,139,303 |
|
8.9% |
|
|
| Yes | Kohl, Herbert H | D | WI | $6,450 |
|
8.9% |
|
|
| No | Collins, Susan Margaret | R | ME | $1,263,070 |
|
9.5% |
|
|
| No | Snowe, Olympia Jean | R | ME | $755,640 |
|
9.5% |
|
|
| Yes | Dodd, Christopher John | D | CT | $1,729,005 |
|
9.6% |
|
|
| Yes | Lieberman, Joseph I. | I | CT | $2,560,496 |
|
9.6% |
|
|
| Yes | Casey, Robert Patrick | D | PA | $491,149 |
|
9.8% |
|
|
| No | Grassley, Charles Ernest | R | IA | $2,722,746 |
|
9.8% |
|
|
| Yes | Harkin, Thomas Richard | D | IA | $2,935,478 |
|
9.8% |
|
|
| Yes | Specter, Arlen | D | PA | $4,521,093 |
|
9.8% |
|
|
NOTE: Edward E. (Ted) Kaufman (D-Del.) replaced Sen. Joe Biden Jan. 15, 2009; George Lemieux (R-Fla.) replaced Sen. Mel Martinez Sept. 10, 2009; Paul G. Kirk (D-Mass.) replaced Sen. Edward Kennedy Sept. 24, 2009.
SOURCES: OpenSecrets.org, Urban Institute, House clerk
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/votes/senate/healthcarecloture/
Remember their names during the 2010 elections.
Michelle Malkin provides a breakdown of the muti-billion dollar “cash for cloture” deals made by Harry Reid. Some members of Congress and Senate received money as a Party favor, others received cash as an “incentive” to cooperate. In other words, he bought their votes with taxpayer dollars.
The list of crooks includes Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), James Clyburn (D-S.C.), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
Also reaping benefits of the their generosity were Democratic voting districts—that raked in nearly twice as much earmarks as GOP districts—without regard to the actual economic suffering and job loss in those districts.
From Michelle Malkin’s site:
That includes Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s backyard – where a $54 million no-bid contract was awarded to a firm with little experience to relocate a luxury Bay Area wine train due to flood concerns.
And it includes Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois, which reaped the single biggest earmark in the porkulus bill – $1 billion for the dubious FutureGen near-zero emissions “clean coal” plant earmark championed by disgraced Democrat and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin.
And it includes Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s backyard – where he secured billions in high-speed rail stimulus earmarks from which he plans to fund a pie-in-the-sky public transportation line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
When taxpayers objected to business as usual masquerading as economic recovery, New York Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer sneered: “You lost.” And, he jibed on the Senate floor while wagging a grabby finger, “let me say this to all of the chattering class that so much focuses on those little tiny, yes, porky amendments, the American people really don’t care.” The “American people” Schumer referred to, of course, were the privileged minority of stimulus beneficiaries – not the rest of us “chattering” dissenters stuck with the bill for those billions in “little tiny, yes, porky amendments.”
No legislation has been immune to congressional shakedown. After the Congressional Black Caucus balked loudly enough, Democrat Rep. Barney Frank – chairman of the House Financial Services Committee – larded up the majority’s Wall Street regulatory “reform” bill with $4 billion in payoffs to minority special interests – including former failed Air America radio partner Inner City Broadcasting Corp. The cash-strapped firm is run by Percy Sutton – a New York City crony of Charlie Rangel and Al Sharpton. The money will come out of the ever-morphing TARP bank bailout fund – which went from a toxic assets purchase plan to a capital injection plan, back to a toxic assets purchase plan, to a life insurance company bailout, to an auto supplier bailout.
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/12/23/beltway-christmas-cash-for-corruptocrats/
The fight to stop this trainwreck is not over yet:
Thursday’s vote for a massive health insurance overhaul was a legislative victory for Democrats whose faces lit up after the morning roll call with a sense of accomplishment as well as a rush to get home in time for Christmas.
But lawmakers will face several challenges ahead before wrapping up the bill that seeks to mandate coverage for 30 million Americans.
Several variables separate the House version, which passed in November with the support of one Republican, and the Senate bill, which received no GOP support.
Republicans are effectively shut out of the negotiations as House and Senate Democrats now must hammer out starkly different ideas on the type of coverage that the government should insist be provided.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/24/house-senate-long-way-health-insurance-deal/
Americans who value their freedoms need to keep this in mind:
“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”
—-Samuel Adams, 1776
It’s time for patriots to storm the Capitol. The Tea Party protests of 2009 were just a dress rehearsal.
