The Senate voted to pass the Reconciliation fix tonight, with only three Democrats voting against it, two of them being both of our Senators.

So let’s get this straight…both Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor are FOR the cornhusker kickback.  They’re also against the student loan reform.  Pathetic representation we have here in Arkansas.  At least we can do something about half of it this May 18th…

I think we’re seeing the value of a primary challenge here…or at least one value. Apparently, Halter’s got Lincoln running scared and considering changing her positions. So much for that “one tough lady” crap.

A moderate Democrat who had vowed to oppose any effort by party leaders to push a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote is rethinking her position.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln said Tuesday that she wants to see what is in the companion bill before deciding.

I wish I could wean people off of calling corporate stooges like Lincoln moderates. Call them what they are-politicians sold to the highest bidder. But that aside, it’s apparent here that Lincoln is struggling to respond to Bill Halter’s challenge, moving away from her previous opposition to reconciliation now.

Mark my words though, this is no reason to vote for Lincoln. She’s changing her position now only to save her sorry hide and if she wins the primary she will revert back to her old ways in a flash.

There’s a clear choice for Arkansans now- A person who stands on principle and doesn’t back down from what he believes in or someone who changes her positions based on the way she thinks the wind is blowing (and if you haven’t figured it out yet, she’s not good at figuring out directions).

Update: Apparently Lincoln realized that her bit of waffling took away from her “one tough lady” image and released this “clarification”:

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln today reiterated her opposition to altering the health insurance reform bill using budget reconciliation.

“Sen. Olympia Snowe and I have proposed a bipartisan way forward on health care and I still hope that my colleagues will consider it,” Lincoln said. “I have promised my constituents that I will not support income tax increases to pay for health care and I will seek bipartisan solutions. This takes budget reconciliation as an alternative means to pass health care reform off the table for me. I have fought for and ensured transparency throughout this process, and I believe we must get over this final hurdle using the regular rules of the Senate.”

A large group of organizations is mobilizing today to get 1,000,000 people to call congress and let them know that we want them to pass health care reform. Over 400,000 have done their civic duty so far today (as of 11:20 CST). (Over 500,000 as of 12:13 CST)

I signed up and gave a call to both Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor. I told both that they should support passing Health Care Reform through reconciliation and told Pryor that he should support adding the Public Option back into the bill through reconciliation.

A neat little flash app shows you how many people are currently calling from each state:

Arkansas is showing about 2-4 people calling at a time. I think we can do better than that!

Arkansans have a greater influence on these votes since we have a lower population to senator ratio and because both of our senators are possible swing votes. Please make an effort to call today.

Sign in here – they will give you all the info you need:
http://pol.moveon.org/virtualmarch10/action.html?rc=vm.fb.11

You might also use their tools for posting it on facebook and twitter to spread the word.

Update:
Seems like word is getting around now as we are up to 2-8 Arkansans calling at a time. Try sending an email, updating your facebook and twitter status, or sending a message to your facebook friends. (Over 680,000 at 1:45 CST)

Update 2:
They hit 1,000,000 people! This was supposed to be a two day event, but they got there in one. I suspect they will keep it going through tomorrow. Maybe they can get 2,000,000 by tomorrow evening.

Finally, after letting the House and Senate muck things up for a year, President Obama has stepped forward with a health care proposal to reconcile the difference between the House and Senate bills, which you can read here.

Now, the bad news. The bill doesn’t include a public option, at least not as of yet. Harry Reid, however, is willing to craft a public option that will pass through the reconciliation process (being a budgetary process, reconciliation requires some special legislative mojo). That’s why it’s so important to pressure Senator Pryor now!

Call his office:

(202) 224-2353

Tell him to support health care reform and the public option through reconciliation.

It’s time to start calling Senator Mark Pryor’s office and to keep calling through the week.  The goal is simple-get him to support reconciliation for health care reform.  Here’s his number:

(202) 224-2353

Don’t know what to say?  It’s simple.  Just speak from the heart.  If you have a health care story of your own, and most of us do by now, share it.  Tell his staff that you want Pryor to support the budget reconciliation effort on health care reform so that the bill can’t be fillibustered, and while you’re at it tell him the importance of having a public option to guarantee competition, and that it’s not right to have an individual mandate that forces us all to buy insurance without a public option to keep the costs down.  Make it clear that you will remember this vote and tell them it’s a matter of siding with us or with the big insurance companies.

We have a window of opportunity here.  It looked as if health care reform was dead after the election in Massachusetts.  Now we’re finally doing what we should have done in the first place, passing the bill through reconciliation over the howls of Republicans, big insurance companies, and Blue Dogs like Blanche Lincoln.  (Can you imagine the look on her face if we get Pryor to issue a statement of support?)  Remember, people in need are counting on all of us to keep the pressure on and get this done.  Their lives are literally depending on it, and that’s why we can’t give up.

So call Senator Pryor.  Tell him to stand with us and the people of Arkansas.

Harry Reid is officially open to passing health care through reconciliation, with a public option.  But for that to happen, we have to get to fifty votes.  We can officially scratch off th forty one Republicans, plus Lieberman and  Ben Nelson.  I’d wager Mary Landreu is on that list as well.  And of course we all realize by now that Blanche Lincoln is a lost cause.  So, assuming all other Democrats vote as a block, we’d have fifty five votes.  But we can’t afford to risk losing any.  That’s why we’ve got to push for Mark Pryor to get onboard.

As I said, we all know we’re not going to get anywhere with Lincoln, so let’s not waste our breath on her.  Instead, let’s focus on our other senator, the one that’s kept his head down and stayed out of this mess for the most part.  Now I will be the first to say that Pryor is of about the same stripe Lincoln is, though to different degrees.  Pryor is more conservative on the abortion issue than Lincoln, but in other areas he hasn’t demonstrated a willingness to lurch near as far to the right.  Granted, that’s because he isn’t up for reelection in 2014, but hey, we’ll work with what they give us, right?

So let’s put some pressure on our junior senator to get this bill passed, with a public option.  There is a good chance that it won’t pay off, but we should still try as the people depending on reform are counting on us.  Pryor has been generally supportive of health care reform so far, so there is some hope that we’ll get through.  As such, we have to make an effort.  And if he won’t stand with us, we’ll be prepared to find someone else who will in 2014.

So, starting Monday and going through the week, let’s try to get Pryor onboard with the effort.  Here’s his D.C. office’s number:

(202) 224-2353

In a recent post (AR-Sen: Blanche Lincoln Vows to Oppose Passing Health Care Reform Fixes) I described how Blanche Lincoln opposes using reconciliation to pass fixes to the health care bill. This basically means that she opposes passing the health care bill altogether as it is the only way it will pass now.

The Hill

“If the House chooses not to pass the Senate bill as is, then I will work with my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to identify the basic reforms that we can agree on,” she said. “I hope that our efforts going forward will be truly bipartisan, because the high-pitched, partisan tone in Washington is not creating jobs, nor is it solving the health care challenges facing every American, whether it be cost or access.”

Lincoln claims that this stance is due to some commitment to bipartisanship. However, it seems she is only against reconciliation when it doesn’t benefit the rich and big corporations. Lincoln voted for and supported the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans in 2001 which only passed because the Republicans used the reconciliation process. It only garnered 53 votes, not enough to withstand a filibuster. Those tax cuts are still in place today and will expire at the end of this year. However, some have been pushing to extend the tax cuts further, despite the record deficit and the fact that the tax cut only benefits the rich. When reconciliation is used merely to fix a damaged bill that would help average Americans and those least among us, it is just not acceptable.

This helps explain my post from earlier today as well (AR-Sen: Donations to Lincoln Average $1,300 per Person). Tax cuts for the wealthy and increase the deficit – pass by any means… Health care for everyone and decrease the deficit – no way, no how…

Niel Sealy, my contact in Arkansas’ chapter of ACORN (which by the way has been further vindicated since that fake pimp has further descredited himself) passes on some helpful information breaking down what the Reconciliation process in the Senate is and how it can be used on health care reform.  Certainly made the whole process clearer for me.

*Reconciliation and Health Care Reform*

* *

*What is Reconciliation?*

/Budget reconciliation/ is a procedure agreed to by Congress to
facilitate passing priority legislation that affects federal spending
and revenue. Budget reconciliation is not subject to a filibuster, a
separate (Senate) procedure agreed to by Congress that enables slowing
down the legislative process. Congress approved the use of
reconciliation for health care reform in the current year’s budget
resolution.

*Is Reconciliation Controversial?*

Reconciliation isn’t controversial and it isn’t rare. While Republicans
frame the process as an extraordinary measure used to “ram through”
legislation, reconciliation has been used in /most years/ since its
first use in 1980 – 19 times. In fact, the last nine budget
reconciliation bills were initiated and passed by Republican Congresses.
Reconciliation is not the same as the so-called “nuclear option,” the
unprecedented 2005 Republican threat to rewrite the Senate procedural
rules midstream to pass judicial nominees that didn’t have the votes for
Senate confirmation.

*Why Use Reconciliation?*

Bills considered under the reconciliation process have a strict time
limit of 20 hours of Senate floor debate. An unlimited number of
amendments can be offered, allowing every Senator to offer ways to
improve the bill, but the bill is protected from extraneous amendments
or costly proposals that don’t include ways to pay for the measure. A
reconciliation bill requires a majority of Senators (51) for passage,
rather than the supermajority 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

*Are There Problems With Using Reconciliation?*

In general, only policies affecting the budget can be included under
reconciliation, if consistent with a Senate policy known as the “Byrd
Rule.” Any Senator can object to a provision as not being consistent
with the Byrd Rule. If the upheld by the parliamentarian/chair, it takes
60 votes to overrule the objection.

*Could Reconciliation Be Used to Pass Health Care Reform?*

*Yes*. One proposal on the table is to pair the current Senate health
reform bill with a narrow reconciliation bill that includes the
legislative fixes that House and Senate health care negotiators recently
agreed upon. Most of those legislative items would clearly fit the rules
of budget reconciliation.

*Is There Precedent for Using Reconciliation to Pass Major Legislation? *

*Yes.* Two of the most significant recent changes in U.S. domestic
policy were passed using reconciliation: welfare reform in 1996 and the
creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997. Both
were passed by a Republican Congress and signed by a Democratic
President. Reconciliation was used four times under President George W.
Bush, including three times to pass more than $1 trillion in tax cuts
for the wealthy (2001, 2003, 2005) that were not offset by spending cuts
or new revenues. The current budget resolution authorizes the use of
reconciliation for health reform but requires that the reconciliation
bill reduce the deficit by at least $1 billion.