It appears that the moderate Democrats who held the future of the Senate Healthcare bill in the palm of their hands liked being the center of attention. Those same Senators are now warning Harry Reid not to cave on the bill when it goes to conference with the House version.
Mary Landrieu as well as about two dozen Senators say there isn’t much room to change what they passed on Christmas Eve. Most people feel the majority of compromising would have to come from the House anyway, the Senators appear as if they’re going to stand firm. From the Hill:
“There’s very little room for this bill to change,” said Landrieu. “The framework really has to stay basically in place.
“It’s not just me,” Landrieu added. “There are probably two-dozen Democratic senators who feel very strongly about the framework.”
Ben Nelson of Nebraska doesn’t like the surcharge on those making $500,000 or families earning over $1 million. Evan Bayh of Indiana says he’ll be reluctant to vote for many changes at all, Blanche Lincoln as well; the Senators over all would vote against a public option. Or so they say.
I’m having a hard time believing much if anything the Senators say. I still feel like Nancy Pelosi will coax the House into going along with the Senate version, which, out of the two, stings the least; but with this bunch anything is likely to happen.
I think it will depend on how much political pressure is brought to bear and from which side that pressure comes from. If the raging left puts too much more pressure on the Dems, the House may be less likely to just go along with the Senate version; even though Pelosi, Reid, and Obama will certainly be pushing for the Senate version just to have something to sign.
via Hot Air’s Headlines