The Senate voted to move ahead with a floor debate on the $848 billion bill by a vote of 60-39.

All 58 Senate Democrats supported bringing the measure to the floor, as did independent Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Here are some of the comments from the pros and the cons:

Tonight’s historic vote brings us one step closer to ending insurance company abuses, reining in spiraling health care costs, providing stability and security to those with health insurance and extending quality health coverage to those who lack it.”

-White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

Today we decide whether to even discuss one of the greatest issues of our generation. Whether this nation will finally guarantee its people the right to live free from fear of illness and death, which can be prevented by decent health care for all.”

-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

The Republicans are frightening people. Now is not the time to go wobbly in the knees. Now is the time to stand strong … and move this country forward.”

- Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa

This bill… is a massive monument to bureaucracy and spending. It imposes punishing taxes on almost everyone. … A vote in favor of proceeding to this bill is a vote in favor of adding to the tax burden of the American people in the midst of double digit unemployment.”

-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

The bill does worse than nothing. It threatens the economic recovery. … Changes to the health care system must be responsible and not break the backs of the taxpayers.”

-Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa

Letting the debate go to the floor was the absolute right thing to do. Get it out there and then let the gloves come off. Nobody wants to bankrupt the country for health care reform, but the current system is bankrupting the average “Joe”, and it’s getting worse by the day. It’s time to take the profit motive out of health care and restore it to taking care of people because it’s the right thing to do.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that Reid’s 2,074-page bill would extend health insurance coverage to 31 million additional Americans.

The CBO also estimates that the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion over the next 10 years, through 2019. Any effect on the deficit in the following decade would be “subject to substantial uncertainty,” but probably would result in “small reductions in federal budget deficits,” according to budget office analysts.

That doesn’t sound like a bankrupting plan to me…

I believe we … will have the support of my caucus.”

And you will have the support of a majority of Americans as well Senator. Keep moving this through, and hold out for the best possible plan you can.

People are dying, literally dying, every day for health reform.

Just get it done.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33411196/ns/today-today_health/

A healthy child. A little on the small side. Not on the “normal” curve. Death panel you say? Yep, your friendly insurance company.

Aislin’s dad, Robert Bates, told TODAY’s Erin Burnett he was shocked that United HealthCare turned down their request for coverage when their daughter is basically a picture of health, having suffered nothing more than a common cold in her life. Doctors have told Robert and his wife, Rachel, that Aislin’s small size is purely a matter of genes, not ill health.

It seems as if they’re discriminating about the fact that she’s smaller, that her size is an issue, Robert Bates said. I don’t see why that would be a factor in whether or not a child is healthy.”

United HealthCare turned down coverage for Aislin — even though it had already insured Aislin as an infant — stating she did not meet height and weight standards and also noting the Bateses had sought treatment for Aislin’s finicky eating habits.

Oh. Aislin doesn’t like broccoli, huh? Seems like there was a president who didn’t like broccoli either.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman said,

I think what we’re really seeing is the cherry-picking of health care plans across the country. If anyone doubted the significance of health care reform in this country, this is why things have to change. This is egregious.”

And bullshit…

People are dying, literally dying, every day because of health insurers policies. The time to fix this is now.

Among other items, the report says:

• Health insurance premiums for the typical American family would increase by another $4,000 by 2019

• Premiums for individuals could rise by an extra $1,500 if the Baucus plan is implemented

• A proposed tax on employer-sponsored, high-cost “Cadillac” plans could result in higher premiums for many private consumers

White House spokesman Reid Cherlin responded:

This is a self-serving analysis from the insurance industry, one of the major opponents of health insurance reform.

It comes on the eve of a vote that will reduce the industry’s profits. It is hard to take it seriously. The analysis completely ignores critical policies [that] will lower costs for those that have insurance, expand coverage and provide affordable health insurance options to millions of Americans who are priced out of today’s health insurance market or are locked out by unfair insurance company practices.”

And this is a shock to anyone? The insurance industry is rightfully sweating bullets now. What is being proposed will create a sea change for them, and after years of tweaking the for profit system they have in place now, they are scared of what may be coming.

Why wait to the end of the process?

Strategery…

Get those consumers fired up just before the vote, put that uncertainty cloud out there again, and who knows, profit may reign king once more.

Just in case you are wondering what the mission of America’s Health Insurance Plans is, here is a blurb from their website (emphasis is mine):

America’s Health Insurance Plans is a national association representing nearly 1,300 members providing health benefits to more than 200 million Americans.  AHIP and its predecessor organizations have advocated on behalf of health insurance plans for more than six decades.

AHIP’s principal purpose is to represent the interests of our members on legislative and regulatory issues at the federal and state levels, and with the media, consumers and employers.  We provide information and services, such as newsletters, publications, a magazine, and on-line services. We conduct education, research, and quality assurance programs and engage in a host of other activities to assist our members.  All our programs are designed to serve our member organizations and to inform policy makers and the public about health care financing and delivery.

Our goal is to provide a unified voice for the healthcare financing industry, to expand access to high quality, cost effective health care to all Americans, and to ensure Americans’ financial security through robust insurance markets, product flexibility and innovation, and an abundance of consumer choice.

Explain to me again what a robust market is?

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said:

This is something that is in the doctrine of anti-Iranianism, since the policy and the 30-year-old history of the Islamic Republic has proven that Iran wants to live in peace and under the spirit of equality and fraternity, with its Muslim neighbors and the rest of the world.”

Obama said the change of gears was based on an “updated intelligence assessment” about Iran’s ability to hit Europe with missiles.

So this is the tit-for-tat that has been going on with Iran since the Islamic Revolution. Classic Middle Eastern “negotiation”. North Korea plays this game too. Unfortunately, it will be another 8 to 12 years of sanctions and forcing Iran’s leadership to over spend on the military, as well as  to find a way to support the grass root movement, to finally get the people to revolt back to the future. Soviet Union redux.

You can’t change Iran without getting the common folks on board first. Unlike Iraq, these guys probably do have a nuke in the oven and would use it if attacked.

President Obama told CNN:

Are there people out there who don’t like me because of race? I’m sure there are. That’s not the overriding issue here.”

He also said that he did not agree with former President Jimmy Carter’s claim that racism was stoking the opposition to his administration. He described himself as just the latest in a line of presidents whose motives had been questioned because they were trying to enact major change.

Ouch! Smack down ole’ Jimmy! The President also said “race is such a volatile issue in this society” that he conceded it had become difficult for people to tell whether it was simply a backdrop of the current political discussion or “a predominant factor.”

“Now there are some who are, setting aside the issue of race, actually I think are more passionate about the idea of whether government can do anything right,” he told ABC News. “And I think that that’s probably the biggest driver of some of the vitriol.”

Bingo. True leadership is not about bending the curve to make it look like you are right. True leadership is working towards actually making things right. We as a nation ought to be thankful we have a President that gives thoughtful pause to the decisions he makes on a daily basis. These decisions will impact us for a long time.

We rightly have a cynical and suspicious eye on the government at large. As we have seen over decades, people in high positions are capable of very destructive actions and decisions. Whether it is orchestrating a break in to dig up dirt on the opposition, or bending the intelligence to fit the “end goal”, this hateful, mean spirited venom that is being spewed is just stirring up the hornets nest for the sake of stirring it up. The completely untrue and false crap that is being distributed by the likes of Glenn Beck is of course just that. Crap. If you have a true disagreement with the policy, fine. State it clearly and accurately, and back it up with facts. Not with that drivel about secretly “communist” and “fascist” art buried into the exterior design program of Rockefeller Center.

Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Dead because they couldn’t get or afford health care. Sue Riek couldn’t afford $5,000 a month for the premium. $5,000 a month. That’s a big number too.

So, what’s the answer? Just let them continue to die? Well, that’s a real right to life stance. So if life begins at conception, then when does it end? I know, that seems to be a silly question, but really, when does it end? When you no longer can afford to stay alive, that’s when. If you can’t pay, then pray, ’cause that’s all the help you are gonna get. Cryn’ won’t help you either.

Just ask the woman who died on the floor in the hospital, while the staff just kept walking around her and stepping over her. Oh, sorry, you can’t. She’s dead.

America is better than that.

Now, if we could only educate people about what Czars do in this country.

Under what President did the 1st Drug Czar work for? (Hint: He was "Not a crook")

And, if you want to know them all, LMGTFY:

Who's your daddy?

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus says:

As senators on and off the committee, [including] Republicans, begin to know more about all of this, their comfort level is starting to come up a bit. I do believe that in the end we will have some significant bipartisan support.”

The group of three Democratic and three Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee — are realizing “there’s much to agree on,” Baucus said.

Now that’s a far cry from “You Lie”, now isn’t it. Even Iowa GOP Sen. Charles Grassley, one of the gang of “Pull the plug on Grandma”, said he wanted to see the overall price lowered in light of skyrocketing federal budget deficits (reasonable argument), and indicated that there were “five to six unresolved issues” but expressed some optimism that they could be overcome.

Last week, President Obama delivered a speech to Congress outlining a proposal similar to the measure being negotiated by the Gang of Six. Sounds like the President got his point across to them. Of course, he didn’t convince “You Lie” Wilson, but then again, he is a gang of one right now.

Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota said that The Finance Committee bill as currently drafted would cost roughly $880 billion over 10 years and be fully funded and also said it would not add to the federal deficit.

He  also said he was “confident we’re bending the cost curve in the right way.”

Now that’s negotiating. William Shatner would be proud.

Then CNN, monitoring the Coast Guard radio traffic, reports that shots were fired. Then, Reagan National Airport halts flights.

Then the news cameras focus on high speed boat traffic on the river.

This is not the way for our security agencies to communicate. Nothing makes the American people lose confidence in the system more than incompetence (in planning, anyway, looks like the execution was just fine). Flying a presidential aircraft at 2,000 feet over New York City being chased by F-16′s was not the smartest thing to do, neither is saying “10 rounds expended” over radio during a 9/11 memorial service.

C’mon guys and gals. Those of you that plan this stuff can do a much better job.

How about hook up a big ole’ American Flag to the back of that 747, tell everyone to come out and see something special, then fly over New York at 1,000 feet at about 160 miles per hour while we listen to the Star Spangled Banner.

Now that would be cool. Just call the marketing folks over at Nascar. They can tell you how it’s done.  They coordinate flyby’s every weekend, and everybody knows it’s coming.

But the Coast Guard is checking into why the exercise was even scheduled for today.

Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana, called for restarting the health care debate instead of proceeding with policies he claimed were opposed by the majority of the country.

What? Opposed by a majority of what country? Spain? Read the polls Mr. Boustany.

Most Americans wanted to hear the president tell Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and the rest of Congress that it’s time to start over on a common-sense, bipartisan plan focused on lowering the cost of health care while improving quality.”

OK, define common sense. Kill the death panel provision? Take out providing  health care to all the illegal Canadians living here? But, why stop there? Why not just make health insurance available only to those who have donated to a FudPublican political campaign and call it a day. The rest of us could just go die on the hospital floor while they try to figure out where they can send us. Oh, wait, that’s already happening.

Common sense would dictate having thoughtful, intense yet respectful debate of the issues at hand.

Yelling “You Lie” in the middle of a Presidential address to a joint session of Congress is not my idea of common sense.

Keeping the “birther” movement alive at every chance you get is not my idea of common sense.

Sending out mailers that the Obama health reform plan will pay for sex change operations is not my idea of common sense.

It’s all FUD, plain and simple. FudPublicans have made an art of spewing FUD, and they wont stop anytime soon.

So, Mr. President, stay the course. Don’t let them wear you down. That’s all they have. They lost the last election…badly.

And when you call them out for distorting the facts, as they will most certainly continue to do, give them the map of the Appalachian Trail. We wouldn’t want to see anyone getting lost and ending up in, oh I don’t know, Argentina?

Update – Oh, and President Obama has accepted Joe Wilson’s apology…