Top Items:
Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Cloture vote foreshadows conference tussle over final healthcare bill — As the Senate prepares for the dead-of-night cloture vote on its healthcare reform bill, lawmakers in both chambers have already begun jockeying over what the final bill should look like.
RELATED:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
CBO pegs Nelson's Nebraska Medicaid deal cost at $100 million — Nebraska will receive $100 million in assistance for its state Medicaid program under provisions in the Senate's healthcare reform bill negotiated by Sen. Ben Nelson (D). — The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) …
Sue / ChattahBox News Blog:
Stupak Ready to Pounce, Vows to Kill ‘Unacceptable’ Nelson Abortion Deal — (ChattahBox)— Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) is not finished making trouble for his Democratic colleagues, as the Senate's health reform bill makes its way to the House to be reconciled with the House bill.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, The Moderate Voice, The Politico, American Power, IntoxiNation, The Washington Independent and Scared Monkeys
Riverdaughter / The Confluence:
The abortion “compromise” doesn't make the health care reform bill good
The abortion “compromise” doesn't make the health care reform bill good
Discussion:
Reclusive Leftist
New York Times:
Health Bill Passes Key Test in the Senate With 60 Votes — WASHINGTON — After a long day of acid, partisan debate, Democrats held ranks early Monday in a dead-of-night procedural vote that proved they had locked in the decisive margin needed to pass a far-reaching overhaul of the nation's health care system.
Discussion:
Wonkette
RELATED:
Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Senate Democrats unite for landmark healthcare vote — Healthcare reform entered the inevitability stage in the Senate during the wee hours of Monday morning as Democrats came together on a party-line vote to all but lock in passage of the legislation on Christmas Eve.
Discussion:
The Politico
Timothy Noah / Slate:
The deal that won Sen. Harry Reid (we think) a filibuster-proof …
The deal that won Sen. Harry Reid (we think) a filibuster-proof …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
The Huffington Post:
Feingold: Obama Responsible For Loss Of Public Option — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) formally announced on Sunday that he would support the Senate's final version of health care reform. But in doing so he cast blame for the loss of a public option …
RELATED:
Jacob S. Hacker / The New Republic:
Why I Still Believe in This Bill
Why I Still Believe in This Bill
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, The Huffington Post, TalkLeft, Raw Story, The Politico and Jack & Jill Politics
BBC:
Auschwitz theft suspects detained — Hundreds of thousands of people passed under the sign to their deaths — The “Arbeit macht frei” sign stolen from Auschwitz in southern Poland has been found in the north and five men are being questioned by police. — The five suspects …
The Note:
A Whodunit: The $100 million mystery hospital — ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports: — The health reform Christmas gifts for Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska are well known . But somewhere out there is another good little legislator who got funding for a hospital in their state.
Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:
Correction Regarding the Longer-Term Effects of the Manager's Amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — CBO has discovered an error in the cost estimate released yesterday related to the longer-term budgetary effects of the manager's amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Fed's approach to regulation left banks exposed to crisis — Foreclosures already pocked Chicago's poorer neighborhoods but the downtown still was booming as the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago convened its annual conference in May 2007. — The keynote speaker, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke …
Paul Krugman:
The WYSIWYG president — There's a lot of dismay/rage on the left over Obama, a number of cries that he isn't the man progressives thought they were voting for. — But that says more about the complainers than it does about Obama himself. If you actually paid attention to the substance …
Discussion:
Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
Bill Nichols / The Politico:
Ahmadinejad dismisses secret doc — In an interview to be aired Monday, Iran's president dismisses a newly revealed secret document that purportedly shows his nation has been trying to develop a crucial component of a nuclear bomb. — In an interview with ABC News's Diane Sawyer …
Discussion:
The Page
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
A Dangerous Dysfunction — Unless some legislator pulls off a last-minute double-cross, health care reform will pass the Senate this week. Count me among those who consider this an awesome achievement. It's a seriously flawed bill, we'll spend years if not decades fixing it, but it's nonetheless a huge step forward.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
Robynn Tysver / Omaha World-Herald:
Huckabee leads rally to try to change Nelson's mind — Gov. Huckabee speaks in Omaha. — The health-care reform bill expected to win passage in the U.S. Senate is an attack on “liberty” in America, said Mike Huckabee, a former Republican presidential candidate from Arkansas.
Discussion:
NO QUARTER