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Dems: Memo On Medicare Changes Isn't Ours — It's A GOP ‘Hoax’ — Democrats today are accusing Republicans of circulating a fraudulent memo that claims to be sent to “Democratic health and communications staff” and which suggests the majority party leadership wants to make big changes to Medicare next year after health care passes.
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Chris Frates / The Politico:
Democrats challenge authenticity of ‘doc fix’ memo — An earlier post in this spot detailed what was purported by Republicans to be an internal Democratic memo regarding the upcoming health reform vote Sunday. Democratic leadership has challenged the authenticity of the memo.
Discussion:
TPMDC, Big Government, Talking Points Memo, The Washington Independent, The Atlantic Online, Newsweek Blogs, skippy the bush kangaroo, Conservatives4Palin.com, iOwnTheWorld.com, Raw Story, Questions and Observations, Ben Smith's Blog, The Corner on National …, Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Townhall.com, Riehl World View, The Daily Caller and Daily Kos
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Obamacare threatens U.S. future — Liberals have long dreamed of putting the government in charge of America's health insurance industry. Each time they tried, the American people have stood up and rejected a government takeover of health care. — This is different.
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Kosmas to back healthcare reform — WASHINGTON — After days of fence-sitting, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach said Friday that she would support a sweeping Democratic plan for healthcare reform that has divided the country even as it aims to bring health insurance to 95 percent of Americans.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, TPM LiveWire, TRAIL BLAZERS, TPMDC, Hot Air, Washington Post and Boston Herald
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
Here I Will Discuss The Memo I Posted — Early this afternoon, House Republican communications guru Michael Steel e-mailed numerous reporters with a copy of a memorandum purporting to be from Democrats about what points Democratic members ought to avoid when discussing health care reform with reporters.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
Jennifer A. Dlouhy / New York on the Potomac:
Updated: Murphy to vote for health care overhaul
Updated: Murphy to vote for health care overhaul
Discussion:
Capitol Confidential, Firedoglake, Salon, DownWithTyranny!, Open Left and Indecision Forever
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Impeach the president? — The ‘Slaughter Solution’ would violate the Constitution — The Democrats are assaulting the very pillars of our democracy. As the debate on Obamacare reaches the long, painful end, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is confronting a political nightmare.
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New York Times:
Democrats Woo Abortion Foes in Push for Health Bill — WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders late on Friday were exploring the possibility of a deal with abortion opponents that would clinch the final votes to pass major health care legislation, but they faced stiff resistance from lawmakers who support abortion rights.
The Huffington Post:
Reid Promises Separate Public Option Vote In Next Few Months — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Hoping to assuage progressive Democrats who remain disappointed with the content of the health care reform bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) committed on Friday to holding a separate vote on a public option in the coming months.
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Emily Pierce / Roll Call:
Senate Won't Release Letter to Calm Nervous House Members on Reconciliation — Senate Democratic leaders have decided they will not publicly release a health care reform letter signed by their rank and file intended to calm nervous House Democrats before their historic vote this weekend …
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Reid to release letter — without signatories
Reid to release letter — without signatories
Discussion:
Hot Air
KDKA-TV:
U.S. Rep. Altmire To Vote Against Health Care Bill — PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Congressman Jason Altmire will vote against the latest version of health care reform when the U.S. House of Representatives votes on the bill this weekend. — Altmire confirmed that he has decided to vote …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Hot Air, The Page, AmSpecBlog, The Corner on National … and National Review Online
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Crossing a Line in the Health Care Debate? — Richard Grenell: Is the White House Sending Healthcare Propaganda to Federal Employees? — (CBS) Richard Grenell served as the spokesman for the last four U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations: Zalmay Khalilzad, John Bolton, John Danforth and John Negroponte.
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Caterpillar: Health care bill would cost it $100M — A worker at Caterpillar's plant in Mossville, Ill. (José Moré/Chicago Tribune) — Dow Jones Newswires | Caterpillar Inc. said the health-care overhaul legislation being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives …
Discussion:
Hot Air, theblogprof, Time, GOP Leader Blog, Political Byline, Riehl World View, Townhall.com, Big Government, GINA COBB and Confederate Yankee
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Byron York / Washington Examiner:
GOP: Dems are bluffing, don't have the votes — House GOP whip Rep. Eric Cantor has sent out a brief memo outlining the health care vote count from the Republican perspective. The best way to look at it is not to ask whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gotten the 216 votes needed to pass …
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Breaking: Ellsworth To Vote Yes — Another big get for Dems: Rep Brad Ellsworth, a former Yes vote who shared the concerns of the Stupak dozen and was intensely wooed by both sides, will vote Yes on the Senate bill, his spokesman confirms to me. — “He's a Yes,” Jonathan Kott …
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John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Brad Ellsworth Abandons Stupak, Will Vote Yes (UPDATED)
Brad Ellsworth Abandons Stupak, Will Vote Yes (UPDATED)
Discussion:
Townhall.com
Washington Wire:
Sen. Graham: ‘Immigration Will Be First Casualty of Health Bill’ — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who is currently trying to help President Barack Obama out of the thickets of immigration, Guantanamo Bay and climate change, showed his claws Friday, declaring he'll drop out of negotiations …
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The Heat is On: Congressman's Office Says Constituent Calls Are ‘Harassment’ — Yesterday, I decided to call Rep. John Garamendi's (CA-10) office in Washington, D.C. He's my representative and I wanted to voice my opposition to the Senate Health Care Bill. I spoke with a female staffer …
Discussion:
theblogprof, Shot in the Dark, The Corner on National …, Chicago Boyz, American Power, Townhall.com and AmSpecBlog
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Twilight of the interest groups — Think back to 1994 for a second. The insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the American Medical Association, the hospital industry and the major business groups ferociously opposed Bill Clinton's health-care reform proposal.
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Lynch: Why Obama Didn't Convince Me on Health Care — Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass), who switched from “yes” to “no” on the health reform bill, is insisting that his vote will not kill the legislation, noting that the House Democrats have the votes to pass the measure this weekend without his support.
Bruce Bartlett / Forbes:
The Misinformed Tea Party Movement — For an antitax group, they don't know much about taxes. — On March 16 the Tea Party crowd showed up for yet another demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington. Curious about the factual knowledge these people have regarding the issues they are protesting …
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'America's Comeback' — By: Kathryn Jean Lopez — This RGA video will resonate: — Watch it and tell me you're not feeling it right now ...
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Another Black Conservative, Political Byline, The Other McCain and RedState
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Notes on CBO skepticism — My colleague Neil Irwin has a very good piece on the difficulty the Congressional Budget Office has predicting the cost of something complex like the health-care reform bill. But because his piece is coming in the context of a coordinated conservative effort …
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Federal Reserve Must Disclose Bank Bailout Records — The Federal Reserve Board must disclose documents identifying financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest U.S. government bailout ever, a federal appeals court said. — The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled today …
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Fact Sheet: The Truth About the Health Care Bill — click for a PDF of our health care reform fact sheet — I'll be on the new CNN show with Jon King that premieres at noon ET, available for live stream here — jh — The Firedoglake health care team has been covering the debate in congress since it began last year.