CNN

Rick Sanchez followed the health care lobbyist money in the House of Representative the other day and he showed that the house of representatives averaged about $450, 000. each (I assume to influence a no vote) and the Senate got over a million per senator.

When buying votes, it looks like the health care lobby thinks they get a lot more bang for their bucks in the Senate. As an American, I am sick and tired of our politicians sleeping with the lobbyists(evidently figuratively and physically). If we can't stop the lobbyists is there anyway we can tax that money. Maybe if we impose a 50% tax on all money the Lobbyist spend on Congressmen and then throw another 50% tax on any money a Congress accepts from a lobbyist. Then, we either have enough tax money to pay for healthcare, or the healthcare industry decides they have to work harder and smarter to make record profits and overhaul health care themselves.

who cares if it is good or bad, just get me one to sign so I win!!!!

Durbin is a scumbag, living in a liberal dreamland. Notice being a typical liberal, it is someone else's fault. Liberals lie and lack any kind of ethics or morals.

No big deal. This has long ago stopped being about health care reform( as if it ever was ) and is now nothing more than a political game. Mixing health care and politics is a disaster as we all see now, especially when it became too expensive to do right and they are trying to cram it into a broken economy. They need to start over.

We don't want it perfect, we want it Tuesday.

We can fix it later. Get it done!

Senators we want you to work nights, weekends and holidays like regular people and pass this bill by the end of the year.

A health care reform bill with a strong public option will help control flu epidemic. We shouldn't delay its passing for too long. If you don't trust our government for flu control, can you trust private insurers for it?
Have you got the money for the vaccine? Yes, come on in for a shot.

I will trust Uncle Sam for my health care, period. What do private insurance companies care about me for?

If the Republicans were really serious about their concerns re: Health Care they should demonstrate their anger by refusing ALL the nationally paid Health Care that they receive each time they burp or worse pass ..........

The senate democrats need a swift kick in the backside. If they don't pass this legislation soon, the tide could change.

Please step down Mr. Obumer! Please wake up, all you fools who voted for this fake!

I would hope the senate realizes that the US cant afford another one trillion dollars

When will the American news media actually start doing their job and informing America what's actually in this bill?

Where is the scrutiny from our press on so many issues?
H1N1
Global Warming
the Economy
unemployment
etc...

"Through scrutiny comes understand, and from understanding comes either support or opposition, and BOTH are necessary." – JFK

why are the democrates always rushing everything. how can it be thought out properly

And that is why I didn't vote for Durbin last election and won't vote for Durbin this next election, even though I am a Democrat.

Here is a novel idea. Instead of pressing along with the monstrosity the Dems like to call health care reform how about fixing the existing fraud and waste problems with Medicare. This Congress needs to start taking a one step at a time approach instead of shoving through big changes all at once. Rushed decisions never end up having the intended results because there are always problems that get missed in the rush.

Let's take away congress's insuance and see how much they whimpee and whine. Bet they would be done this time next week|

There shouldn't be a deadline, time should be taken to do it right. They know that 2010 is right around the corner and these very people supporting this disaster will be voted out of office. They don't care about us, it's all about themselves and their power. How stupid are we? Do you really think the Government is capable of taking over health care? They can't even run the H1N1 vaccine program without problems. You really want them making life and death decisions for you?

Harry Reid and the rest of the Senate know perfectly well that the House bill has exactly zero percent chance of passing in the Senate, and that any bill that can pass in the Senate has zero percent chance of passing in the House.

Socialised medicine is, as it should be, dead, dead, dead, in the US.

There is a disconnect. This administration is permanently unplugged, they are making me come UN-GLUED. It is hard to keep my sense of humor sometimes.

Insanity – by any other name, is Robert Gibbs behind a President who is behind David Axelrod, who is behind Rahm Emanuel. These Bozo Dominoes will tumble in 2012. Now that will bring back my sense of humor.

So, Dick Durbin thinks it is okay to continue playing games with most of the American people lack of Health care....by not working hard to get this bill done before the holidays. Dick and company give the people something for Christmas ....HOPE would be Great but the REFORM BILL signed would be awesome.
I thank God I have a great healthcare plan at this time. Faith in law makers and their friends is down right upsetting. Putting it mildly.

And yet none of them miss voting themselves another pay raise, this while they will be cutting Medicare funding to the seniors and not giving those on SS a cost of living increase to boot.

So if the government can't get this done on schedule (and it has already slipped several times) why would we think they can do a decent job of even crafting a plan? And if they botch it up (which I fully expect – all other countries' socialized medical systems are botched up... our liberal government is as incompetent as theirs are) how long will it take to get a bill through to rectify things? (Answer: a bill will never get through to rectify things... and the loony congressman Grayson will try to blame Republicans for all the people that die waiting for their turn at healthcare. It will be our version of Moscow breadlines.) Reverend Wright was Right! "The Chickens... Are Coming Home.... To Roost!"

Come on Durbin, why he is putting this out there. Senate Dems, come together right now!!! I don't care if you are Dem because you couldn't get elected as what you really are. Stand up and do the right thing for America, how many times can this be shouted at you?

"Durbin, of Illinois, blamed the shifting timeline on a slower than expected cost analysis of the legislation by the Congressional Budget Office "

And if you don't think he was throwing the GOPers a bone by blaming the CBO rather than taking the opportunity to harp on the GOPers' dialtory behavior, then, well, you're an idiot.

As for the deadline...Obama is doing exactly what he's supposed to do: crack the whip on the 500+ political monkeys running around the Capitol Building.

The majority of the senate on both sides is what is wrong with politics today. They are all cowtowing to the likes of K street.

Pitiful!

No suprise here!!!!

And we all know Obama will sign anything that comes out.., regardless of previosuly stated goals that should be met.

Just a slight delay on the road to socialism.

Clearly the Senate bill won't look anything like the House bill or this would be done by now. I will most likely be well beyond the end of the year before there is a bill that can pass both the House and Senate. If the House did not insist on the public option and the creation of hundreds of new goverment agencies and committees to take over health care from the private sector, a bill could have been signed by now.

Keep your capitalism out of my healthcare! Have a nice day!

Good. The PelObama bill is complete garbage (as is Obama and Pelosi). Putting the healthcare system under governmental control won't solve the problem, but add several more.

Fix healthcare one problem at a time.

It is better to miss the deadline than to deliver a lame duck which is what the house bill seems to be because of its anti-choice poison pill.

I am glad the Senate is going to take their time with this bill. After the disaster of the stimulus bill and how that was quickly whipped up and passed, I think we learned a lesson that we should go slower and be more methodical on how we approach Universal Healthcare. Let the CBO do their analysis so that we don't pass any legislation that ends up bankrupting America or putting to much burden on our children.

it is time for TERM LIMITS for all elected officials in Congress!!!
These guys are nothing but self serving and do not give a care about the people!!!
They all know darn well if they don't get it out this year, next year (for some) their only major concern will be trying to get re-elected.
The public needs to take a look at how good some of these RICH Senators can have the nerve not to pass this bill. They all know that it would not effect them in no way shape or form because they have the money to pay for their healthcare!!!

Sarah, Newt, Rush, Steele, McConnell, Boehner and other radical conservatives really pulled off a coup. The elected a Democrat to a traditional Republican seat.

These guys should support more candidates and speed up the demise of the whackos!

The DSCC is pestering me every week for money. They are not going to get jack from me as long as the Senators think they can get away with this kind of an attitude. Get off your butts and get this done!

The senate dems are a major disappointment.

No way will the senate fall for this massive health care overall proposed by Obama and Pelosi.

Senators are paid to serve the people and you should just do that!

It is gonna be a long, hard, and bitter battle in the senate, and the 2 armies are drawing battle lines already. Lindsey Graham has already claimed victory, by mentally slaying the bill, and Liebermann is lingering around, threatening to filibuster the bill, to the best of his ability. Let the bugle go up and the gavel come down.

The US Senate has not missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity since 1860.

Whenever the nation calls, America's Senators are out to lunch, on vacation, having a filibuster, at the doctor's office, giving a speech at a convention in Paris (not Texas), earmarking bills in the back room, having lunch with a lobbyist in the Imperial Room on the 75th floor, or on vacation.

But then, I'm from Texas. My Senators are Cornyn and Hutchison. We Texans certainly can't criticize the other states for electing dud Senators.

The time for hesitation is passed, Democrats – act now with courage not cowardice, the American people will thank you for it!

These fools can't push this so called health care reform thru on thier own time table. we, as americans, should take this as a lesson. they have all the votes they need to push this thru. they have everything the need. the house, the senate, the president. republicans are not a factor here. republicans can, and will, say no, and it won't matter. all they need is 60 votes. by my count, thats what the dems have. quit whining already. either pass the "reform" or don't. quit making excuses. everyone in this country, dems, and republicans, liberals, and conservitives, are sick of hearing your excuses. just do it already. you all know you want to.

Funny how Obama is pressuring them to pass a bad bill with his phony deadlines...............while he dithers on making any decisions on Afghanistan............what a political hypocrite Obama is. Throw that lousy bill out that we don't want and start working on real health care reform..........no more Obama experiements that are all turning out to be pretty disasterous for our future, we can't afford them.

This needs to be passed, and it doesn't need 60 votes, this can pass by 51 votes, reconcillation process. Blue Dog Dems are just republicans spoofing the dem party, get rid of these evil people out of THE PARTY.

If the bill does pass the Senate, it won't have a public option (or a lot of other stuff the dems wanted) if they want quick passage. Otherwise, it will languish on the floor til next year. The longer they take, the less likely it will pass.

We want reform NOW, every year my premiums go up and benifits go down with a 5k deductible now what does my money paid in get me...little to nothing

dems don't get it, Americans don't want this bill!