McConnell is forcing a cloture vote tomorrow

[karynnj]

He is claiming it is fair even though all the Senators are there now and the vote could be today. Reid is speaking of having been honest when he said they would work weekends and he is not out fund raising in NV.

Kerry looks angry.

[MonteLukast]

1. How can he do that, when he's in the minority?

Sounds like a reverse filibuster? One of those "60 votes" things?

[Mass]

2. Why should that be a problem for the Dems? I am not sure I understand.

Call their bluff. If cloture does not pass, you continue debate (and f* those who vote NO). Otherwise, this solves the problem. There are 50 votes for the bill. What I am missing.

[karynnj]

3. Good point - I'm confused

You are completely right. If it fails, it just has to be brought up again. Kerry looked frustrated so there must be something.

[Mass]

4. My guess is that it is an amendment on the Dorgan amendment that some senators and the WH

do not want to hear about (not sure where Kerry stands on that one), even though they voted for it in 2007. Ironically, if this is that, McDonnell may have done a service to everybody.

Truth is that I am less and less well disposed today concerning the Democrats who are leading this. This news made me mad.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x51391

It is one thing to oppose something openly. It is another to hide something THAT important in the middle of a bill.

[karynnj]

6. I would assume that means Kerry is for it as not voting would equal no

He was a sponsor of this twice this year. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=49952&mesg_id=49993 I really wish Dorgan and others would simply do this as a stand alone bill - I suspect it could easily pass that way.

If he doesn't want it to pass, Kerry could have just left (thus not voted)and that would have been more ambiguous than voting no.

(There was a bill where it would have been a poison pill - leading Kennedy, Dodd, Kerry et al voting against it - I think on the 2008 Medicare bill.)

[Mass]

5. OK, here is the story. It makes a little bit more sense.

It is to vote on cloture for the omnibus bill. The vote was planned on Saturday and Kerry wanted to vote it on Friday. The GOP insisted just to make a point.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dcnow/2009/12/senate-to-meet-on-saturday-again.html

Republicans decided to make a point today so the Senate is scheduled to return on Saturday, the second consecutive weekend the lawmakers will be in session.

On Saturday, Democrats will vote to end a GOP filibuster over an omnibus spending bill. Today, Democrats showed they had the needed votes by killing off a GOP procedural move, 60-36. Sixty is the golden number because that’s the number it takes to end any filibuster.

But the Saturday session is really about the politics of healthcare.

Democrats have repeatedly insisted that the Senate needs to work day, night and holidays to pass the healthcare reform bill by Christmas and that Republicans were impeding their efforts for political gain. Republicans, on their side, reply that they need to weigh the bill which was written by Democrats without substantial GOP input.

That became more complicated as Democrats this week created a compromise on the public option portion of the bill, a deal that is being examined by the Congressional Budget Office. Until the CBO reports, no details have been released and the Senate work on healthcare has ground to a halt, though debate has continued.

Majority Leader Harry Reid this week said the Senate didn’t have to work this weekend, but Republicans complained that he was really trying to clear the slate for a fundraiser he was to attend in New Orleans.

Reid has canceled that event and said today on the Senate floor that he will be in Washington this weekend, ready to work.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) tried to get Saturday’s vote pushed up to sometime today, but that move was shot down when Republicans refused to agree.

“We’ve been told that healthcare is the most important thing,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said.

“We’re here. We’re prepared to work,” McConnell said, adding. “I object” to Kerry’s call for a vote today.

The Senate then went back to discussing healthcare issues and the vote on spending is scheduled for Saturday.

[karynnj]

7. Thanks

(So, Kerry just doesn't want to be the one holding it up if he were not there tomorrow, This is stupid. I hate McConnell.