Huckleberries Online

Historic Health Care Bill Passes

Posted by Cindy

Dec. 24, 2009 9:36 a.m. • 7 comments

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., center, answers questions outside of the Senate chambers on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009, after the Senate passed the health care reform bill. From left are, Senate Finance Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Reid, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn..
(AP Photo/Mannul Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama’s legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country’s history.

“We are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people,” Obama said shortly after the Senate acted.

“This will be the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security passed in the 1930s,” said Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden in the State Room of the White House.

The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted “yes.” Republicans unanimously voted “no.” More.

Anyone surprised?

Seven comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Charlie on December 24 at 11:49 a.m.
I am surprised at how much “bribe” money it took to get some democrat senators to sign on to this thing. So far about 5 billion to a hand full of these putz’s. Wait till the congress ways in? The culture of corruption continues unabated!
Sisyphus on December 24 at 12:11 p.m.
LOL, sure Charlie. Funny how Orrin Hatch was still able to get some of his own pet projects into that baby.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14037564

Really, if you were serious about reforming the way Congress does business Bush’s first term would have been an ideal time. But don’t get all high minded about your party’s moral superiority in this regard. Particularly since every industry in this state relies heavily on federal beneficence

And since the headline touts the historic nature of this legislation, how do you suppose it will record the Republican efforts to kill, maim and deform it? I find it amusing that only four short years ago they sponsored legislation to privatize Social Security and talked of removing medicare and now they were the champions of these programs. Politics as usual, eh?
hmoffsuite on December 24 at 2:38 p.m.
This is a historic event in the history of our Country. No doubt about that. For many reasons. This is one time when Obama can use his favorite term. “An unprecedented event”.
LarrySpencer on December 24 at 2:42 p.m.
Sis, please accept my gratitude for this amazing Christmas gift.

I know it was selfless of the Democrats to sacrifice their future and the elections in 2010 for something that will be likely gutted by the Supreme Court as portions are unconstitutional. I know that a few Dems were pushing for this at any cost, and didn’t care how it made the party look to the rest of the nation, and to them, I again say thank you.

Thank you for showing the true colors of the Democrat party and making the nation recoil in shock as they learn what he*l they have brought to pass.

Thank you for showing the country that there is truely worse politics than even the deplorable Bush years.

Thank you for helping the Republicans to push the neo-cons out of our party so we can again provide a limited government platform that the nation is for the first time in many years looking to embrace.

Thank you for providing such a galvanizing, polarizing image that the nation can identify as the new enemy of what good political process should look like.

Thank you for making 2010 the year Republicans will take back America for the people.

Thank you for this wonderful gift, and making my Christmas the best ever.

Merry Christmas, Democrats, and happy new year to me!

:-)
hmoffsuite on December 24 at 2:51 p.m.
Here is another comment regarding the historic nature of the health reform bill the dems are trying to get passed.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/12/24/voting_against_government-run_health_care_99671.html
Charlie on December 24 at 3:26 p.m.
What Hatch got into the bill was chicken feed compared to what the democrats got. This is a real stinker of a bill and the democrats own it. Harry, Nancy and Obama refused any suggestions for the minority.
LarrySpencer on December 24 at 4:20 p.m.
Charlie, the rest of us got hosed as well. Silly Dems! They think that those of us without health insurance want to buy health insurance, but tens of millions of us chose to not purchase insurance.

Thanks to the Dem’s bill, millions of us who spend a few hundred per year on our healthcare will now be forced to spend thousands, or face a fine.

How do you think those people are going to vote next year?

Oh, and don’t forget that part of the package involves cutting medicare payments by 20%. How many doctors do you think are going to quit taking medicare patients then? How do you think the 65+ crowd is going to like being told to find another doctor next year (or as soon as Pelozi quits back door funding to hide the cuts).

It’s a lump of coal from the Democrats to America this year, and they stuffed it down our necks.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.