If Reid And Pelosi actually cared about getting a health care reform bill passed they would give members of Congress two days off for Thanksgiving and two more days for Christmas -- which is what most people who work for a living get.

But having seen the proposed bills, it's obvious that they don't really care about actually reforming health care.

Last year I came into the office and worked on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day to get a big project out. It looks like this year will be a repeat.

They should stay in Washington and get their work done. That's what they were sent there to do and that's what they're paid hansomely to do. If they hadn't wasted alot time in the previous months maybe they wouldn't have run into the holidays.

Good thing they spent all that time trying to get votes from Olympia Snowe and Charles Grassley.

Thank God the ER doesn't work on the same time frame as Congress. At least I still have my Universal Health Care provided by the generosity of public and private hospitals, everywhere. Hopefully, doctors and other healthcare workers don't observe the same holiday schedule as our loyal and dedicated Congresspeople. Perhaps they can also tell the H1N1 "Swine" (named after the Congress, I believe) flu to give us a break so they can get their important work done in their home districts.
/snark/

For those of you who don't get Obama's Organize for America emails, here's a link to the website to vote on the 20 best Health Care Reform videos. The winner will be aired on national TV.

http://my.barackobama.com/VideoChallenge

A few are funny, a few are tear-jerkers, and all are pretty creative. If you have a few minutes watch, vote, and enjoy other peoples creativity. Some of the videos were so awesome, they even got me for the "send money to help us air the winner on national tv" schtick!

Tell me how god damn long does it takes to:

fund a war?
bail out the banksters?
try in vain to "save the life" of a brain-dead Florida woman?
(speaking of which -- how many more die while this bullshit settles?)

the god damn clown car senate is a worthless institution filled with worthless. useless, arrogant clowns...

The Senate shouldn't be taking ANY recesses at this point. There are dozens of Obama appointees that still have to be approved (Dawn Johnsen, etc.) and critical legislation such as extending unemployment benefits and perhaps crafting more stimulus.

If the GOP wasn't obstructing everything, they could stick to their usual lax schedule. But they can't. Reid should cancel all of these recesses and keep the Senate working.

Does this mean we can summarily reject the right-wing talking point that the Democrats are "rushing this through?"

Perhaps this Obama fellow might be able to devote a few minutes to hastening the process. Then again, maybe not.

I think it might be a good idea to wait. Over the next month many will get their Health care packages for next year and see some huge increases. All will be outraged. Also, if you pass it now and then people get these increases they will be susceptible to an "Obama caused this" meme.

Terminate all health care programs. Close all hospitals and clinics. Let us surrender to the Will of God. Sick? God's Will. Injured? God's Will. Pregnant? Women have been giving birth for millions of years (or 6,000 years) with or without help. God's Will.
Think of the money we'd save and jobs eliminated. CEOs would have their payrolls cut, thus increasing their profits and their stocks would soar. Wonder who would be left to purchase stock, products and services? The New Economy: a Conservatives Dream.

If Reid and Pelosi were determined to get this through, they could use those upcoming holiday breaks to their advantage. "Want to filibuster? Great - you can start on Christmas Eve." Heck, the GOP has been telling us that health care reform is threatening our democracy, is worse than terrorism - if they really mean that, surely they wouldn't stop defending democracy just because of a holiday, right?

As pointed out at TPM, there are two more House votes for health care reform after last night. One is a complete 180 from the previous representative in NY23.

Both will likely also support the energy and environment bill.

NJ, and VA governors, Maine gay marriage and two VA state wide offices and 1-3 VA House of Delegates seats. That is the grand sum total of this supposed Repugnican wave. They lost the marquee NY23, lost big in CA 10, lost WA civil unions, lost 2 TABORS, lost a city anti discrimination vote, Bloomburg almost lost after spending 13:1 and $100,000,000 and the press says progressives are doomed. If this is an off election, 2012 will be 1936 all over again.

I'd imagine no HCR this year means No HCR at all, at least not as we would imagine it. They might pass a bill that does even less than this bill would have, but nobody will take it seriously.

Health care reform will cost a fraction of the ongoing Wall Street bailout/economic stimulus, and a fraction of the cost of the Iraq war.

Most of the politicians involved would REALLY love to see this bill just go away.

Does anyone besides Alan Grayson and me ever consider the "human consequences" of Health Care? What happens to "people/human beings" when they have some condition that causes their body to malfunction? We, as a society, have decided that most conditions can be "treated" with medical services and products. We have set-up an institutional infrastructure to "treat" those conditions. There is a cost in dollars to maintain this structure. Most people, at some point in their lifetimes, will have a condition that requires the use of this structure. When a person's condition is such that they have need of medical intervention, there is a cost to that person and the community. What are we willing to do, as a community, to participate in this person's treatment of the condition?
The question is not: how much will it cost in dollars. The question is: do we, as fellow human beings, have a responsibility to our fellows to help them recover and resume a life, whether we consider them a "valuable asset" to the community, or not?
When we and our representatives begin viewing their constituents as people and not as votes or commodities to be exploited, then we will be able to address health care as a right and not a profit center.

delaying HCR is not the answer to the alleged message sent last night -- it will be the megaphone for such a message.

the best way to shore up any political problems the Dems might have is to deliver the damned goods. all people will care about in 10 and 12 is results -- they elected us to govern, can we do it? if all we have is more rhetoric against the angry Republican rhetoric, we'll lose. but if we have results, we'll win. its that freaking simple.

pass. HCR. now. dammit.

I don't want a complicated mishmash of a bill passed. I don't want 30 million new healthy 20 year olds forced into a broken system.

If we don't have single payer, let's just gradually role out Medicare to younger people. Let's kill Part D, the giveaway to Big Pharma and insurance companies. Let's just do that.

I have a feeling that the lobbyists have gotten so much crap in the bill it is going to be worse than ever.

Like apparently if people don't want to go to drs. but want to "pray," this is part of health care. The insurance industry wants to to pay to pray. Give me a break. That IS in the bill!

Forget it!

Every other industrial nation has health care at a fraction of the price. This is just insane and if we pass a bad bill, then folks will say, "oh, we gave the public optiona chance and look what happened."

No.

The only thing Congress is good at is to Skewer the American Taxpayer in a bipartisian way. Health Care Reform is a moral issue. Americans deserve it.If a democrat wants to get re elected then vote for Health care reform. If A democrat does not want to get re elected than don't vote for it. Congress should stop fiddling with the insurance and pharmaceutical companies and do what Americans want . VOTE for reform now

clem - part of what is broken about the system is that 30 million healthy 20 year olds aren't in it. While the odds are slim, that leaves them totally exposed to catastrophic costs which will largely be borne by the rest of us, and avoids preventative maintenance that will keep them from being unhealthy 40 years olds.

the biggest problem, however, is that it totally distorts any risk pools under either private or public insurance arrangements. most insureds costs would go down if those 20 year olds were "forced" into the "system."

Well, the House is run by democrats and the Senate by dilettantes.

Fine. Fuck the Senate. Give 'em the House bill on Monday, dare' em to filibuster or vote against it, then spend the next 12 months calling out every single Senate repug and dem who wouldn't cooperate.

Then shove single-payer up their worthless asses.

That goes for the ditherer in the White House, too.

I'm waiting for the "trigger option" for several Senators. I believe Joe Lieberman is at the top of the trigger option list.

Whatever happened to budget reconciliation?

And what is the current excuse for not using it?

Speaking of filibusters, two can play at that game. I for one can think of no reason - none - for Congress to do anything unless and until it has first passed healthcare. No budgets, no military, no judges, no cabinet members, no FBI, certainly no bailouts - nothing.

This is an extreme position and I'm not happy with it - but apparently it all that's left to me.

"A senior Democratic leadership aide..." Steve Benen.

Again with the anonymous source? Every time some kerfluffle erupts over a "setback" to HCR, you can be assured that its' source is an aide to someone. Forever nameless and forever safe from accountability.
Look, the current meme in the MSM is that the Democrats are again in disarray from the trouncing on 3 November. That the facts don't support that doesn't matter; that's our meme and we're sticking with it!
And of course the first thing to suffer will be HCR, because, as EVERYONE knows, the WH doesn't want it, the Senate doesn't want it and if today is Wednesday, then Pelosi will be cutting something out because, well, because it's Wednesday.
While I agree that Sen. Reid should cancel the Senate's overly-long breaks for Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is only sensible NOT to tie HCR to a pre-determined date; it will only give the Republican and other non-Democratic senators a clear time-table for their obstructionist tactics. There is also the fact that the House hasn't passed a bill and I would imagine its' contents may have some impact on the Senate bill.
Right now, the opponents of HCR don't know when the vote will occur and thus are forced to continually voice their opposition to any form of change. OFA and AARP are just getting into the act; their efforts and support will most likely give a good boost to passing HCR.
We need to keep an eye out, of course; but, and I say this with all due regard for everyone's feelings: Chill!

Since the Republicans are not burdened by the requirement to come up with sensible reasons why HCR should not go through or to offer alternative plans, all their time is free to obstruct. I'm told this is not particularly taxing in a physical sense, and that a generally healthy person can obstruct all day with no breaks except for lunch and to visit the bathroom. Most Republicans will answer their party's call to obstruct regardless the day or the hour. Therefore, since managing to keep HCR from passing in 2009 will be regarded - and widely advertised - as a Republican triumph, I can't see any reason to put if off until 2010.

Embarrassing and pathetic.