Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown Asks to be Seated Immediately

From The Washington Times:

Massachusetts Sen.-elect Scott Brown on Wednesday demanded to be seated immediately, saying that while he is scheduled to be sworn in Feb. 11, “there are a number of votes scheduled prior to that date.”

In a letter from his lawyers to Gov. Deval Patrick and Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, Mr. Brown argues that the results of the special election in Massachusetts on Jan. 19 are not in doubt and he should be able to take the seat right away.

“We represent Senator-elect Scott Brown. We understand that the election returns from Massachusetts cities and towns were transmitted this morning to the State Secretary’s Office and by the State Secretary to the Governor’s Office. While Senator-elect Brown had tentatively planned to be sworn into office February 11, he has been advised that there are a number of votes scheduled prior to that date, For that reason, he wants certification to occur immediately. As he is the duly elected United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he is entitled to be seated now.

I don’t see where there’s any reason for controversy or delay here, Scott Brown is the duly elected Senator from Massachusetts he sworn in as soon as the election results are certified. The only real question is why is Democratic seat warmer Paul Kirk still casting votes in the Senate when it would seem his term ended with Mr. Brown’s election?

Massachusetts Miracle: Scott Browns Wins!

I have confess I haven’t paid close attention to the special election in Massachusetts to fill the senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy… Frankly, I didn’t think there was even the slightest chance that a Republican could win there, in republicans haven’t won Senate race in the Bay State since the 1970s!

I was wrong… Scott Brown not only won the race but he did it by a significant margin:

A little-known Republican upended the balance of power in Washington by winning a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts, a result that imperils President Barack Obama’s top legislative priorities and augurs trouble for his party in this year’s elections.

With 75% of the vote counted, Republican Scott Brown was leading his opponent, Massachusetts’ Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley 52.7% to 46.3%, according to the Associated Press, which declared Mr. Brown the winner.

The Brown victory forces the White House and Congressional leaders into a mad scramble to decide how—or whether—to salvage their long-sought health-care overhaul. Rushing the bill after losing Massachusetts carries political risks. So does allowing it to collapse.

House Democrats Tuesday opened the door to passing the Senate version of the legislation, which the president could then sign into law. The White House has floated that idea, but it will be a hard sell. The Senate bill contains abortion, immigration and tax provisions opposed by many House members.

Scott Brown’s decisive victory in one the bluest states in the country should send a cold shiver through the hearts of Democrats…  Yeah, sure, Martha Coakley ran an unfocused gaff prone campaign and I’m sure some politicians and pundits are going to wrongly try and lay the blame for this loss squarely at her feet.

Yes, her gaffs made matters worse, but the simple truth is voters sent a message to the President and Democrats on Capitol Hill today, Mr. Brown made his campaign a referendum on their policies and they lost!

Related

• In epic upset, GOP’s Brown wins Mass. Senate race – The Washington Times
• The fallout: Democrats rethinking health care bill – The Politico
• The Pragmatic Leviathan – David Brooks, The New York Times

Scott Brown: It’s the People’s Seat

Damn right… It is the people’s seat… There a reason why the race to fill the senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts  is apparently to close to call. This video clip from last night’s debate between Republican Scott Brown, Democrat Martha Coakley and Independent Joe Kennedy demonstrates it pretty clearly.

It’s the people’s seat… Not Ted Kennedy’s, not Martha Coakley’s and the Democrats… This race is as close as it is Martha Coakley and Democrats arrogantly assumed they owned the seat. They don’t, the people do, that’s something both Democrats and Republicans would do well to the remember.

Boston Herald: Democrats Would Stall Brown to Pass Health Care Reform

There’s and editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal titled “The 60th Senate Vote“. It details what’s at stake in the January 19, special election to fill the Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy… in short, should Republican Scott Brown win he be the 41st Republican in the Senate and would deny Democrats the 60 votes needed to end debate and ram through Health Care Reform.

What the Journal doesn’t mention is that Democrats have become so brazenly corrupt that should Brown they may try to delay swearing him in until after the Senate has voted on health care reform:

It looks like the fix is in on national health-care reform – and it all may unfold on Beacon Hill.

At a business forum in Boston Friday, interim Sen. Paul Kirk predicted that Congress would pass a health-care reform bill this month.

“We want to get this resolved before President Obama’s State of the Union address in early to mid-February,” Kirk told reporters at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

The longtime aide and confidant of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was handpicked by Gov. Deval Patrick after a controversial legal change to hold Kennedy’s seat, vowed to vote for the bill even if Republican state Sen. Scott Brown, who opposes the health-care reform legislation, prevails in a Jan. 19 special election.

“Absolutely,” Kirk said, when asked if he’d vote for the bill, even if Brown captures the seat. “It would be my responsibility as United States senator, representing the people and understanding Senator Kennedy’s agenda. . . . I think you’re asking me a hypothetical question but I’d be pleased to vote for the bill.”

~ ~ ~

Friday, a spokesman for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, who is overseeing the election but did not respond to a call seeking comment, said certification of the Jan. 19 election by the Governor’s Council would take a while.

“Because it’s a federal election,” spokesman Brian McNiff said. “We’d have to wait 10 days for absentee and military ballots to come in.”

Another source told the Herald that Galvin’s office has said the election won’t be certified until Feb. 20 – well after the president’s address.

That Democrats would even hint at such underhanded tactics should surprise no one… Particularly after the after the tactics used by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used to effectively bribe Senators into voting for his health care reform bill on Christmas Eve!

Related

• 41st What? – Jules Crittenden

Previous

• Ted Kennedy: Hey Lets Change Elections Rules… Again

Dodd, Dorgan to Retire; Won’t Seek Re-election

The 2010 mid-term elections are still months, but things aren’t looking good Democrats. Two long serving high profile Senators, Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have announced that they won’t seek re-election:

Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a Democratic Party stalwart in the Senate, is set to announce today that he will not seek re-election this year, according to a party strategist familiar with his plans.

Sen. Dodd’s decision was the latest in a string of big-name Democratic retirements revealed Tuesday as the party struggles to contend with a challenging political climate.

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said he, too, would retire after this year, unexpectedly saddling his fellow Democrats with a wide-open race that could be tough to win in a Republican-leaning state.

In addition to Dodd and Dorgan at least 5 other Senate Democrats are vulnerable, among them Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.

I wouldn’t breakout the Champagne yet, at least not in Connecticut… We may finally be free of Chris Dodd, but things just got a lot tougher for us, Chris Dodd was weakened and vulnerable and ultimately beatable. Now instead of facing a weakened Sen. Dodd we’re facing Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who has announced plans to run for Dodd’s seat. Say what you want to him, but there’s escaping the fact that he’s well known and well liked in this state… My guess is the Democrats will hang on to the seat.

Of course it won’t hurt to remind voters of Blumenthal’s remarks about Sen Dodd’s sweetheart mortgage deal:

Huh??? What??? Dodd was a victim??? It’s a rarity but I’m speechless!

Related

• Colorado’s Gov. Ritter Ends Bid for Re-Election – Wall Street Journal
• Massachusetts governor race another sign of Democratic weakness – Ed Lasky, American Thinker
• Culture of Corruption casualty: Chris Dodd bows out; CT AG Blumenthal to run – Michelle Malkin
• Dodd retiring – Ed Morrissry, Hot Air
• Will Blumenthal Be Sufficient Change for Connecticut? – Jim Geraghty

Bah Humbug: Senate Passes Health Care Reform Bill

The Senate this morning voted to pass Majority Leader Harry Reid’s Health Care Reform bill… A.K.A. the single biggest crap sandwich ever foisted on Americans. The was 60-39 entirely along party lines with all Democrats for it and Republicans voting against it:

In a vote resonating with history, Senate Democrats early Christmas Eve morning passed their version of health care reform, advancing the issue further than ever before in the nation’s history and setting up a bruising stretch-run to get a final bill to President Obama next year.

“It’s about people, it’s about life and death in America. It’s a question of morality, of right and wrong,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. “It’s about human suffering, and given the change to relieve this suffering, we must take this chance.”

The party-line 60-39 vote is the midway point for the bill. It must now be reconciled with a very different House measure. Major sticking points remain, including how to treat federal payments for abortions, whether to force insurance companies to compete with a government-run public health plan and which taxes to raise to pay for the changes.

The good news is this turkey is still has hurdle or two to clear before becoming law, the bad news is I don’t think it matters… The Democrats have invested far to much time and political capital in jamming their so called reforms through Congress. If liberals in the House have to, they will roll over and vote for the Senate bill in toto. Never mind what the White House is saying Democrats in Congress can not let this, um, debate drag into February, or worse, March… The closer they get to election day the less likely passage becomes.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will do whatever they have to do to get health care reform the House as quickly as possible… Even if that means bribing they’re caucus into voting for the Senate bill in toto.

Related

• What Doctors and Patients Have to Lose Under ObamaCare – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Wall Street Journal
• A Democrat’s view from the House: Senate bill isn’t health reform – Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, CNN.com
• Surprise! Gaming CBO rules masks how healthcare reform may actually make deficit worse – James Pethokoukis, Reuters
• Senate passes Reid bill, 60-39 – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air

Tom Coburn Fires Warning Shot Across Harry Reid’s Bow

Things got little interesting in the Senate earlier today when Senator Tom Coburn fired what can best be called a warning shot across Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s bow.

Sen. Coburn refused to allow unanimous consent on Sen. Bernie Sander’s single payer amendment to the health care reform bill and demanded that they read entire bill be read into the record:

A Republican senator is forcing Senate clerks to read aloud a 767-page amendment to the Democrats’ health care overhaul bill that would establish a single-payer national health care system.

Typically, lawmakers allow the required reading of legislation on the Senate floor to be waived, but not this time.

A spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said Mr. Coburn objected to waiving the reading of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ amendment to educate the public.

“He believes a reading of the amendment would help the American people understand the competing approaches to reform,” said John Hart, a spokesman for Mr. Coburn. He hopes to “highlight the real debate, which is between government-run health care and patient-centered health care.”

Mr. Coburn, a physician who opposes the Democrats’ health bill, plans to require all 767 pages of the amendment to be read, which is expected to take 16 to 24 hours, Mr. Hart said.

Heh, it’s nice to see Republicans finally putting up a fight… Sen. Sanders’ amendment should been a non-event, no one expected it to go anywhere; especially since the public option and Medicare buy-in couldn’t get 60 votes. Instead it’s front page news because Tom Coburn had the courage to follow through on the threat he made last month.

The Democrats were able to convince Sen. Sanders to withdraw his amendment, but not until the Senate had been tied up in knots for about three hours.

Ed Morrissey sums things up pretty over at Hot Air:

What does this do?  It makes a hash out of Harry Reid’s plan to move the bill through the Senate by Christmas.  Twelve hours of floor time for just a single amendment means that no other business can be conducted until at least Friday.  Coburn apparently launched this effort in response to an attempt by Reid to shove the bill to a cloture vote without giving everyone enough time to read the bill or peruse the CBO analysis, due this week.

It’s a reminder that even with a supermajority, Reid needs to work with the minority to keep momentum.  He can’t pull a Nancy Pelosi jamdown in the upper chamber, and any further attempts will mean weeks of bill reading as the legislation effectively filibusters itself.

Bottom line, this bill is a train wreck and nobody likes it, Howard Dean says kill it and start over, the AFL-CIO and SEIU are reportedly calling emergency meetings and may withdraw support for the bill… The best thing for all concerned would be to kill this turd and start over with smaller more commonsense plan that will provide a safety net for the roughly 12 million Americans who want health insurance but can’t get it either because of cost or preexisting conditions.

No one is denying there are problems in our curent health care system, but the reality is the current system works  reasonably well for the majority of Americans… Effectively blowing it up and replacing with system that will increase costs, limit choice and lead to rationing is the wrong way to go about reform.

Update: Did the Democrats break Senate rules in allowing Bernie Sanders to withdraw his amendment? It certainly looks like it:

The Senate Republican leadership believes that the parliamentarian allowed Democrats to violate the rules of the Senate by allowing Sen. Bernie Sanders to cut off the reading of his single-payer proposal.

When an amendment is introduced, it has to be read on the Senate floor unless the rest of the Senate agrees to cut off the reading, and typically, the requirement is waived through “unanimous consent.” Yet today, Sen. Tom Coburn insisted that Sanders’ 767 page bill be read on the Senate floor, which was on pace to take more than 12 hours.

But about three hours into the reading, Sanders withdrew his amendment, and this stopped the reading of the bill — even without unanimous consent.

It looks like Democrats are hell bent committing political suicide.

Related

• The End of HSAs – Wall Street Journal
• Senate Health Care Bill Would Force Some Middle Class Families to Pay $15,200 Yearly Insurance Fee, According to CBO Analysis – CNSNew.com
• CBO confirms ObamaCare is a takeover of the health insurance industry – The Greenroom

Senate Democrats Reach Health Reform Compromise; Drop Public Option

From the Wall Street Journal:

Senior Senate Democrats reached tentative agreement Tuesday night to abandon the government-run insurance plan in their health-overhaul bill and to expand Medicare coverage to some people ages 55 to 64, clearing the most significant hurdle so far in getting a bill that can pass Congress.

Liberals dropped the public insurance plan that was a central plank of the Democrats’ health bill in favor of a more limited alternative, following intense pressure from a small group of Democrats who had insisted for months that it was a deal-breaker. While disputes over abortion coverage and other issues remain, Democrats appeared a whisker away from having enough votes to overcome Republican opposition and pass a sweeping health overhaul in the Senate.

The Senate bill — including the lack of a public plan — is likely to form the core of any final legislation, though it will have to be reconciled with a health bill passed by the House last month.

This compromise is the result of several days of negotiations by a group of 10 Democratic senators — five moderates and five liberals, it replaces the public option with a more limited plan administered by the government’s Office of Personnel Management.

According to the Journal, the new national plan would be run by nonprofit entities set up by the private sector, and would be available to the public on the new insurance exchanges that would be created under the bill. If no private insurers sign up with the Office of Personnel Management to offer a national plan, the office would be authorized to implement a direct government-run plan.

The Office of Personnel Management currently administers plans offered to federal employees and members of Congress.

Bottom line, I still expect the Senate to pass a Health Care a reform bill this year, and I don’t buy the tough talk coming from Jerrold Nadler and Jan Schakowsky in the House… If liberals in the House have to roll over to get a reform bill done they will… It’s as simple that, Democrats have invested to much time and political capital in Health Care Reform. They’re going to get a bill through Congress, we the people and the consequences be damned.

Joe Lieberman: I’ll Block Vote on Harry Reid’s Health Care Reform Plan

From Politico:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he’d back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill.

Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats and is positioning himself as a fiscal hawk on the issue, said he opposes any health care bill that includes a government-run insurance program — even if it includes a provision allowing states to opt out of the program, as Reid’s has said the Senate bill will.

“We’re trying to do too much at once,” Lieberman said. “To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayers, for the premium payers and for the national debt. I don’t think we need it now.”

Lieberman added that he’d vote against a public option plan “even with an opt-out because it still creates a whole new government entitlement program for which taxpayers will be on the line.”

His comments confirmed that Reid is short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill out of the Senate, even after Reid included the opt-out provision. Several other moderate Democrats expressed skepticism at the proposal as well, but most of the wavering Democratic senators did not go as far as Lieberman Tuesday, saying they were waiting to see the details.

Kudos to Sen. Lieberman, I have a sneaking suspicion that the media’s new found, um, respect for independent-minded centrists like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins won’t be extended to Joe Lieberman… Regardless, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s Health Care Reform Plan is in trouble. When you combine Sen. Lieberman’s announcement with Sen. Snowe’s comments saying she won’t vote for Reid’s opt-out public option either and you’re looking at 41 votes to kill it. Add in still uncommitted Blue Dog Democrats like Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and it’s not looking good the Majority Leader’s plan.

TPM has a short summary on this means procedurally… In short, there’s two cloture votes coming on Reid’s plan. One to open floor debate and consider amendments to it and a second to close debate and proceed to a vote on the bill itself. Sen. Lieberman’s comments indicate he’s willing to vote yes on the first but not on the second unless Sen. Reid agrees to drop the public option. And this where it’s gets interesting Sen. Reid’s reelection effort in trouble, if he kills the public option progressives abandon him and pretty much kill his reelection chances. If he sticks with the public option he’ll run into that 41 vote problem.

Update: It look’s like the Democrats are short of the votes needed for a robust Public Option in the House too:

The House Dem leadership has conducted its preliminary whip count and has tallied up less than 200 likely Yes votes in support of a health care reform bill with a robust public option, well short of the 218 needed for passage, according to an internal whip count document I’ve obtained.

The document — compiled by the office of House leader James Clyburn — was distributed privately at a meeting between Clyburn and House progressives today where the fate of the public option was the subject of some contentious debate, with liberals demanding that House leaders push harder to win over votes.

Clyburn spokesperson Kristie Greco would only say: “We currently do not have the votes for a robust public option.”

I’m not sure what to make of this, Ace thinks the Democrat Leadership knows the Public Option is dead and that this is just some sort of elaborate political theater to pacify their base. I’m not so sure it’s as simple as that, their leadership knows this may be their last, best chance to get a government run health care plan through Congress and they’re willing to pay any price… including losing the next election to get it done.

Related

• Republicans question health care improvements – Associated Press
• House health care bill over $1 trillion for decade – Associated Press
• FACT CHECK: Health insurers’ profits 35th of 53 – Associated Press

Harry Reid ‘Likely’ to Make Entire Health Bill an Amendment to Unrelated Tax Bill That House Passed in March

CNSNews.com is reporting that Senate Majority Leader Harry is ‘likely’ to use a tax bill passed by the House in March as shell for enacting the Senate health care bill:

A senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CNSNews.com that it is “likely” that Reid will use H.R. 1586—a bill passed by the House in March to impose a 90-percent tax on bonuses paid to employees of certain bailed-out financial institutions—as a “shell” for enacting the final version of the Senate’s health care bill, which Reid is responsible for crafting.

Under the procedure, the substance of House Resolution 1586 would be removed and replaced with the entire Senate health care package. The maneuver would initially require the support of 60 senators to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 1586 (i.e., end debate on the congressional procedure and move forward).

If Reid wins 60 votes, then debate begins on his health care package. Reid could then decide to block all amendments and attempt to get a vote on the entire package.

However, a senator could filibuster the final vote, requiring another 60-vote majority to move forward. But if Reid decides to allow any amendments, each amendment could be filibustered, requiring a 60-vote majority to move to a final vote on each of them. An amendment that has the support of more than 50 but less than 60 senators could end up stopping the bill if neither side backs down. But if Reid is able to structure the debate so that all 60 senators who caucus with the Democrats stick with the party on cloture votes, he can pass the bill and send it to back to the House–where it originated as an entirely different bill in substance.

This isn’t the only trick Harry Reid has up his sleeve the Washington Examiner is report that Sen. Reid is considering a using tactics that would allow Democrats to slip the public option back into the Senate health care reform bill:

Senate Democrats desperate to find a way to pass a health care bill that includes a federal insurance plan may have come up with a way to do it without putting moderate members who oppose it in political jeopardy.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is weighing a plan to bring the final health care bill to the floor without a public option — making it much easier to get the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster — and then adding the provision later as an amendment.

The public option amendment would be there waiting, but the 60-vote test would technically be on a bill without the government plan. Then moderate Democrats could drop out for the vote on the public option, which requires just 51 votes for passage.

“It’s brilliant,” said a top Senate Republican aide. “It gets you your votes on cloture for a package that does not include a public option.”

Reid has not revealed whether he will use this tactic, but he’s considering it.

“We haven’t made any decisions yet,” his spokesman, Jim Manley, said. “We have different options — that is one.”

I have to hand it to Harry Reid, even though he’s up for re-election next year and trailing all of his likely Republican challengers in the polls not giving on efforts to get the most radical agenda through the Senate.

Anyway, before any of this can happen the non-public option bill has to pass a filibuster. I’m not sure Democrats have the votes right now to cut off debate… Especially with this trick getting public attention. Even if the bill does pass the Senate I’m not sure it’ll through the House.

In short the House would then have to approve the Senate bill outright rather then pass their own… All the Republicans would line up against it and House Democrats aren’t wild about some of the tax provisions of the Senate Finance Committee bill… 154 of them have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her “to reject proposals to enact an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans that could be potentially passed on to middle-class families.”

Bottom line, the next few weeks are going to be very interesting… I doubt Sen. Reid’s underhanded tactics will work but it shows how desperate Democrats are to placate the “progressive” wing of of their party.

Related

• Approval of U.S. Congress Falls to 21%, Driven by Democrats – Gallup

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