Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on December 24, 2009

This devastating, although not unexpected, news was posted by AP just minutes ago… Merry Christmas, socialist America.

From Associated Press, Senate OKs health care measure, reaching milestone:

WASHINGTON – The Senate has passed President Barack Obama’s landmark health care overhaul extending medical insurance to 30 million Americans. The bill requires nearly all Americans to buy insurance and forbids insurance companies from denying coverage based on patients’ pre-existing conditions.

The 60-39 vote on a cold Christmas Eve morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Vice President Joe Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted “yes.” Republicans unanimously voted “no.”

The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.

The Senate’s bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before Obama could sign a final bill in the new year. There are significant differences between the two measures but Democrats say they’ve come too far now to fail.

Both bills would extend health insurance to more than 30 million more Americans.

Vicki Kennedy, the widow of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health reform his life’s work, watched the vote from the gallery.

“This morning isn’t the end of the process, it’s merely the beginning. We’ll continue to build on this success to improve our health system even more,” Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said before the vote. “But that process cannot begin unless we start today … there may not be a next time.”

The House passed its own measure in November. The White House and Congress have now come further toward the goal of a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s health care system than any of their predecessors.

The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years, an estimate that assumes lawmakers carry through on hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cuts to insurance companies and doctors, hospitals and others who treat Medicare patients.

For the first time, the government would require nearly every American to carry insurance, and subsidies would be provided to help low-income people to do so. Employers would be induced to cover their employees through a combination of tax credits and penalties.

Republicans were withering in their criticism of what they deemed a budget-busting government takeover. If the measure were worthwhile, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., contended before the vote, “they wouldn’t be rushing it through Congress on Christmas Eve.”

Not one Republican voted for this disastrous bill.

From Michelle Malkin: Senate delivers 2 massive lumps of coal:

Elvis had a Blue Christmas. Today is a Red Christmas — for the flood of red ink Harry Reid and his henchmen have unleashed.

Chilling reading here: The Anchoress: Obama Executive Order & Interpol – UPDATED

Additional reading:
Jon David, Big Government: Merry Christmas From the United States Senate
MotorCityTimes: The Nightmare Before Christmas: Harry Reid’s Version Of Obama Care Passes Senate and Sarah Palin’s Health Care Bill Op-Ed
Gateway Pundit: Too Funny. Far Left Finally Discovers Obama Is a Weak Leader and Obama Lashes Out at GOP For Using Filibuster to Stall His Takeover of 1/6 of US Economy and Sarah Palin: Democrats Will Awaken Sleeping Giant With Health Care Takeover and After Enough Bribes Were Handed Out–Democrats Ram Obamacare Through Senate 60-39… There Are No Moderates and Lindsey Graham: Seedy Chicago Politics Passed Health Care Bill and Harry Reid Says $1.2 Billion in Sweetheart Deals Were Not Sweetheart Deals …Update: Reid Slams Senators Who Missed Payoff and Sen. Whitehouse: Obamacare Opponents Are Birthers, Right-Wing Militias & Aryan Groups (Video) and Nebraska Republicans Set Up “Give Ben the Boot” Website and Obama Warns That Unless His Nationalized Health Care Bill Is Passed the US Will Go Bankrupt and Change!… 20 States Cut Mammograms After Government Report Released and 61% of Americans Against Democrat’s Nationalized Health Care Bill and 81% Disagree With New Government Rationed Mammogram Rules
Brian Darling, Big Government: Earmarks Buy ObamaCare
The Snooper Report: Screw Fish Wrap: Demented Morons Forgot The US Constitution
Scared Monkeys: It’s Official … Senate Passes Obamacare Along Partisan Democrat Vote, 60-39
Riehl World View: Despite Vote, Last Night Left Me Very Optimistic
Another Black Conservative: Sarah Palin on the Senate Health Care Bill
Diary of a Mad Conservative: Red State & Erick Erickson: Insightful stuff
Thanks for the Laughs: Lullaby
Urbin Report: A Nebraska doctor’s message for Ben Nelson
Caffeinated Thoughts: What is a Right?
Ace of Spades HQ, Reidcare Taxes Tanning Salons Too
Sister Toldjah: Another Dem Senator paid for pro-healthcare “reform” vote
Peter Ferrara, American Spectator: Too Many Democrats in Washington

Frugal Café Blog Zone: Sen. Graham Finally Gets It Right: Thuggery of “Seedy Chicago Politics” Runs White House, Outrageous Bribes to Pass ObamaCare (video) and Wheeling and Dealing: Nebraskans Outraged at Sen. Ben Nelson’s Sell-out on Health Care Bill and Dragnet’s Sgt. Joe Friday vs. Barack Obama: ObamaCare (video) and Frankenstein’s Monster… ObamaCare’s Hideous, Clumsy Creation: Which Version of ObamaCare Will Be Up for Vote? and Dem Harry Reid’s Latest Lunacy: Opposing ObamaCare the Same As Supporting Slavery… Get That Race Card Out of My Face, Dirty Harry (video) and Howard Dean Blasts ObamaCare on Air America… Wants to Kill the Bill (audio/video) and Congress, Are You All Deaf? Polls Climbing Against ObamaCare
Cold Fury: Reid Backdoors America
VotingFemale Speaks!: Socialists Claim They Can Conquer Death Itself and Senate ObamaCare funds Elective Abortions; details hidden in legalese
Classic Liberal: Democrat’s Health Care ‘Neutron Bomb’
Patterico’s Pontifications: Holding Out for Health Care and Scheduling the Senate Vote on Health Care
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Dems Break It, They Own It and Nebraskans Must Be Proud This Morning and Reid: Hurry to Open Debate Then Let’s Leave for the Holiday
Amused Cynic: Anger Management…Can Obamalinsky pull it off? I don’t think so… and More on Obama’s breast cancer death-panel…
Nice Deb: EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE RALLY, Omaha, NE, Sunday 12/20 and Nelson Waivering – Deal Likely (UPDATE: Done Deal) and ObamaCare On The Brink Precipice… and Video: Krauthammer On DemCare: “It Will Take A Decade To Undo The Damage”
VotingFemale Speaks!: and Lieberman – One against Many; it is a matter of his principles: Update: Joe didn’t blink, they did and Socialists Claim They Can Conquer Death Itself
The Sundries Shack: Coburn Saves America; Dems Cheat Their Faces Off
A Conservative Lesbian: Bitchslap for John Aravosis: Democrats are losing on healthcare reform because their proposals stink — it’s not a leadership thang, you fool
Robbing America: Democrats Committing Suicide
Fire Andrea Mitchell!: Obama and Pelosi trying to bribe Bart Stupak to back off his anti-government funding for abortions in ObamaCARE
Hot Air: The $1.2 billion cloture vote in the dead of night and Merry Christmas: Senate ObamaCare vote may come on December 24th

Categories: Business & Economy, Government, Health, Social and Political Climate
Tags: America, Americans against ObamaCare, Barack Obama, Christmas, Christmas Eve, government-run health care, Harry Reid, health care bill, nationalized health care, Obama, Obama's health care plan, ObamaCare, political, politics, Pres. Obama, ReidCare, Sen. Harry Reid, Senate, Senator Harry Reid, socialism, taxes, universal health care, Washington DC