Despite voter objection, Senate votes 60-39 to push government takeover of health care
In a late Saturday night vote, Harry Reid's 2,074 healthcare reform bill secured the 60 votes needed in the US Senate allowing debate to begin when Senators return on November 30.
Three Democrat senators whose support for the Reid bill has been in doubt, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, said they would support the motion to debate.
In the first Senate test for ObamaCare, the final outcome was straight down party lines with 39 Republicans opposing the procedural motion to open debate on the bill in its present form. Ohio Republican George Voinovich did not vote.
"If a bill like this can't get support broadly, then something is wrong with it," said Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA.).
"2,074 pages and trillions of dollars later, this bill doesn't even meet the basic goal the American people had in mind," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) said, "this bill will actually make the situation worse, and now we're about to vote on it."
Senate offices have been pummeled with emails, faxes and phone calls raising concerns about the Senate ObamaCare proposal. Despite those objections, Iowa's junior Senator Tom Harkin (liberal) voted to push the ObamaCare agenda forward.
After the vote, Senators departed Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday. Senator Grassley is returning home to his Iowa farm for the holiday with events planned to include discussing the bill with constituents. Senator Harkin is running away, staying either in his home in Alexandria, Virginia or his other home in the Bahamas. He does not have a home in Iowa he sleeps in, he has no events scheduled and will not be engaging his constituents.
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