Top Items:
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Stupak Abortion Language to Be Substituted for Senate Language in Deal to Secure Health Care Votes — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made a deal with Rep. Bart Stupak in order to secure his vote and that of other anti-choice Democrats for the health care bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this Sunday.
Discussion:
Townhall.com, TPMDC, The Corner on National …, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, GayPatriot and Michelle Malkin
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Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
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.
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 …
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, The Atlantic Online, skippy the bush kangaroo, The Washington Independent, Newsweek Blogs, Ben Smith's Blog, The Corner on National …, iOwnTheWorld.com, Conservatives4Palin.com, Raw Story, Questions and Observations, Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Townhall.com, The Daily Caller, Riehl World View and Daily Kos
The Politico:
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.
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
The Hill:
Pro-Choice Caucus livid at talk of deal with Stupak on abortion — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday evening met with a visibly angry Pro-Choice Caucus amid rumors from Democratic aides that the Speaker was working on a last-minute deal with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) to give his abortion language a separate vote.
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Teague a “No,” Pelosi Would Have to Run the Table Without Stupak Bloc — We'll certainly know in the morning, but Nancy Pelosi is fast running out of options without members of the ubiquitous Stupak bloc. — Harry Teague, one of the few remaining undecided votes, will vote No again as he did in November, blaming cost controls.
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Stupak is Back: What's an Enrollment Corrections Bill? — Jane has gone over this, but what Bart Stupak hinted at today has apparently come true. Stupak's four-page “enrollment corrections” bill will get some sort of vote in the House as part of the overall health care bill.
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.
Mark Matthews / Orlando Sentinel:
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, TPMDC, Hot Air, Washington Post, TRAIL BLAZERS and Boston Herald
Jennifer A. Dlouhy / New York on the Potomac:
Updated: Murphy to vote for health care overhaul
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Capitol Confidential, Salon, Firedoglake, Open Left, DownWithTyranny! and Indecision Forever
The Hill:
Anti-abortion rights Democrats working on a vote deal with Senate on bill
Discussion:
The Politico, Wonk Room, Daily Kos, The Confluence, Firedoglake, AmSpecBlog, ABCNEWS, The Corner on National … and Riehl World View
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
Discussion:
Hot Air
Richard Grenell / CBS News:
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.
Suzy Khimm / Mother Jones:
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.
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Jeffrey T. Kuhner / Washington Times:
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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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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Ezra Klein:
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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Mark Knoller / CBS News:
Obama Has Given 54 Speeches on Health Care — On no other issue has President Obama put in as much effort and displayed as much passion as on health care. — Since launching his campaign for health care reform with a White House forum on March 5th of last year, Mr. Obama has delivered 54 speeches and statements on the issue.
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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 …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Weekly Standard, Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, Power Line, Townhall.com and Daily Kos
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Broken Society — The United States is becoming a broken society. The public has contempt for the political class. Public debt is piling up at an astonishing and unrelenting pace. Middle-class wages have lagged. Unemployment will remain high. It will take years to fully recover from the financial crisis.
Capitol Confidential / Big Government:
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, Chicago Boyz, American Power, AmSpecBlog, Townhall.com and The Corner on National …
Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner on National …:
'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, The Other McCain, Political Byline and RedState
Peter Sanders / Wall Street Journal:
Russian Firm to Bid on Tanker Program — In another twist to the ongoing saga to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers, United Aircraft Corp. of Russia is planning to bid on the $40 billion contract, according to a person familiar with its plans.
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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