Bill Nelson: "Public option will not pass"

[t0dd]

Source: The Ledger

Health care reform will pass Congress this year, but without many of the provisions in the House bill and without a public option.

And Osama bin Laden will be found by the United States within a year, but it will not end the threat of terrorism.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson made those predictions Monday during his tour and teaching assignment at Summerlin Academy, the military-style public school in Bartow.

Nelson, who like his colleagues in Congress has been touring his state during the August recess, later had lunch with members of Citrus Mutual in Lakeland and heard concerns of the industry.

The Melbourne Democrat's visits back home were altered slightly for Friday and the weekend because members of the Senate went to Boston for the funeral of the Sen. Ted Kennedy.

During a question-and-answer session Monday with cadets, Nelson said the House version of health care reform cannot get the necessary 60 votes to avoid a filibuster and pass in the Senate.

Nelson later told The Ledger in an interview that the public option also can't pass the Senate.

"The public option is only one of hundreds of issues concerned with health care reform," he said. "Public option means different things to different people. Some people think of it as socialized medicine, but that type is not and has not ever been considered.

"Still any public option will not pass," he said.

The Senate has not written its version of the health care reform bill yet. That will begin Sept. 8, when senators arrive back in Washington, D.C.

The House version of health care "has not been endorsed by the Obama Administration and will not get through the Senate," he said.

The Senate version will come out of the Senate Finance Committee, on which Nelson sits, probably sometime in late September.

"A big part of (the bill) will be shoring up Medicare and Medicaid. We do not have a bill yet because the Senate does not have consensus. We tried all summer to get consensus," he said.

"I want consensus so that we can have as many people as possible with health care coverage and we cannot get the 60 votes in the Senate with any public option," Nelson said.

Read more: http://www.theledger.com/article/20090831/NEWS/908315049/1410?Title=Sen-Nelson-Health-Care-Reform-to-Pass

---

:argh: :grr:

[Arkana]

1. Rules say we only need 51, Ben.

Looks like your puckered ass is FUCKED.

[niceypoo]

49. But the GOP 'base' will jump up and down, and cry, and make a stink, and bring guns!

And Ben can't have that!

[cojoel]

52. 50 plus Biden would be enough

getting it passed is more important than getting a lot of votes for it.

[Arkana]

56. It's funny--I was reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's book on Lyndon Johnson

and one of the things he said about big votes in the Senate was that if he got a vote to the floor on a big bill, and the vote was lopsided in favor of it, then it only meant he'd given too much up to the Republicans.

Johnson believed that if the votes weren't razor-thin you weren't doing it right.

[LynnTheDem]

2. If so, then Americans will remain very unfortunate.

And America will continue her backwards spiral.

[paulsby]

53. what backwards spiral?

i see no evidence that america is in a backwards spiral.

and with obama in office, i see things moving even more positively.

[Odin2005]

3. STFU, Ben!

:grr:

[Dr.Phool]

14. That's BILL Nelson.

And he can shut the fuck up too!!

[t0dd]

16. It's my fault

I posted the article with "Ben Nelson" in the headline originally. But yeah, they both can STFU! :rofl:

[CreekDog]

don't discount the value of "STFU Ben!"

it's worth saying anyway. :think:

[No Elephants]

29. That post should get a prize. So few posters admit their own mistakes, let alone take the blame

for a mistake that seems like another poster's. Kudos, t0dd!

[Odin2005]

21. OOPS!

:yoiks:

[PassingFair]

34. Thank god it wasn't Gunner....

I would hate to have to burn my
albums...

[dbonds]

4. How much did they pay him to say that.

[LiberalAndProud]

5. It's not Ben (NE), it's Bill (FL). They could be clones.

He so enjoys his position at the fulcrum of power. I hope other states can make his vote inconsequential in 2010.

[t0dd]

9. Hmm, good. I fixed it. I know Ben has hedged some, and I'm glad these words weren't uttered by him.

Should read more closely next time. Thanks :hi:

[Lorien]

13. We MUST find someone worthwhile to run against that waste of space

Bill Nelson has never done anything truly worthwhile that I can remember. He's just another DLC sellout. Enough already.

[Dr.Phool]

15. Bill's another asshole from "The Family" cult.

Jeebus speaks into his empty little chosen head.

[TommyPaine]

25. WWJD? Clearly let the poor suffer and die.

That's the theme from "The Family" aka "The Christian Mafia" aka "The Suckers of Satan's Cock". Screw the meek, it's the powerful who shall inherit the earth.

[DefenseLawyer]

6. Will you join the Republican filibuster?

Yes or no. That is really the only question he should be asked. Other than that I could care less what he thinks or how he's going to vote.

[laughingliberal]

7. He's Just Trying to Give His Masters Their Money's Worth

Wonder if he'd like another ad about how he's screwing his constituents?

[grassfed]

8. Obama Rahm sold out

[Cha]

42. Bullshit..you just like eating

Bullshit from dinos.

[kenny blankenship]

10. OK motherfucker, you just made the list of Dems I will work to unseat

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

37. He's a founding member on my list.

:shrug:

[bluestateguy]

11. If we have bin Laden in our sights, now would be a great time to get him

He's worth at least a good +10% to the ole' Obama approval rating.

[raventattoo]

12. Make the refuckligans OWN a filibuster!

Let everyone watch them reading the phone book or whatever it is they will do, when we are trying to get health care for all.

MAKE THEM OWN THAT! Please let them do it.

[DeepBlueC]

20. amen amen amen amen amen

I want to see the bastards tottering on their feet, puking up bile.

[No Elephants]

31. Sorry. Apparently, they don't have to talk during a filibuster.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/23/the-myth-of-the-filibuste_n_169117.html

Go figure.

[knixphan]

59. YES!!!!!

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. There are 60 Dem votes in the Senate -

therefore, if each Dem Senator guarantees he will not vote with the republicans, the senate can pass any legislation it wants.

So, Bill, are you going to vote with the Dems, or with the Repubs?

Answer clearly, and explain why.

[scentopine]

19. Sold out. Watch us bail out insurance companies in 4 years.

Just like banking "reform" raped us all (with much democratic support), the same players are working hard make sure insurance "reform" will rape us all again. And the CEOs and their exec staff will roll in cash.

Jesus - its hard to watch this train wreck.

DLC neo-dems and early neo-cons, very difficult to tell them apart. Both seem to despise public service.

And fuck you Bill Nelson.

And I mean no disrespect to the guitarist Bill Nelson.

[No Elephants]

30. Without a public option, this bill WOULD "bail out" the very rich insurance companies.

Actually, it would be more like a huge gift.

[scentopine]

36. "reform" is just another word for corporate welfare program...

they've taken a perfectly good word and turned it into something perfectly evil.

[hulka38]

18. Invade Iraq - No public option. Good Dem

[grytpype]

22. Just jam it down his throat.

I can't wait to see him crying on Fox News about how unfair it was.

[cyclezealot]

23. Progressive TV spots have been targeting Ben Nelson

Looks like we need target both Senators with the last name of Nelson .

[FreedomTrain]

24. So, how exactly is this guy better than Katherine Harris again? n/t

[LeftishBrit]

45. He didn't instal George Bush in the White House (n.t.)

[winyanstaz]

26. US Senator Bill Nelson is not a psychic....

But I am and here is my prediction.
Every single polititian that votes against public option will be voted out of office and will never win another election ever again.

[No Elephants]

32. Don't bet on it. The Democratic Party loves its incumbents. Look how they

campaigned for Lieberman during the primary. They had to drop it when he lost the primary. Until then, though, they all campaigned for him when the party should have been, at most, neutral while two Dems fought each other. Especially since at least one of the two had become a DINO.

[and-justice-for-all]

27. Does Nelson have a crystal ball?

Fine, do not pass a public option in a bill, GIVE BE MEDICARE INSTEAD!! Fuckwad!

[depakid]

28. Then you're not getting ANY bill at all...because the progressive caucus is sick of this

[No Elephants]

33. Another event in the saga of Florida's trying to unseat Texas in the race for most absurd.

[Doctor_J]

35. Then within 4 years, we will be in the midst of the 2nd Great Depression

either that, or the proletariat will have burned down every insurance HQ in the country, and taken our country back from the teabaggers, hate radio & cable propagandists, and DC elitists who bow to the lobbyists instead of the voters.

I am hoping for option 2

[dysfunctional press]

38. i still say that it's going to take a MASSIVE march on washinton to get real healthcare reform.

and the longer it's put off, the worse the weather is going to be.

[ronnie624]

39. He sure brightens up when he starts reflecting on U.S. militarism.

It couldn't be more obvious where our systems priorities lie. It's all about maintaining the imperial war machine.

[fascisthunter]

40. oh yes it will, Bill

RECONCILIATION

[cap]

41. so we get 51 votes for public option

and the Republican senators who want ANYTHING for this district get Bupkis. No nothing to take home to their constitutents. Nada.

Let's play hardball Chicago style.

[YvonneCa]

43. Prove him wrong...

...HERE:

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5660/t/4916/letter/?letter_KEY=529&tag=hc_leahy_lte

[YvonneCa]

44. Write your LTTE and send it...

...here: http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5660/t/4916/letter/?letter_KEY=529&


My letter:

Health Care Reform: We Need to do this NOW

To my adult children, their friends and families,

You don't remember President Clinton's effort to fix our broken health care system in the early 1990's...you were too young. I believed then, as I believe now, that your future (and the future of those cute grandkids I love) depends on getting the issues right this time...including education and health care. And President Obama is on the right track.

As the debate heats up, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction based on newspaper accounts alone, despite journalists' best efforts. A lot of the misconceptions out there about health care reform can be traced to the powerful lobbying and misinformation campaigns of the very industry with the most to lose when the system gets fixed -- the private insurance companies who are taking advantage of the holes in current legislation.

You may not remember...but we've been here before. In the 1990's we faced the same opposition, using the same tactics, and we LOST the battle. That loss has been disastrous for our economy and the families that make up this great country...including ours.

So my hope this time is that all of us take the time to educate ourselves on this issue. The American people are too smart to allow insurance companies to succeed in tricking us TWICE.

We NEED health care reform and we need it NOW. We...all of our families... need it and our economy isn't sustainable without it. Those cute grandkids deserve it. Let's not miss the chance to get health care right this time.

YvonneCa

[Zorra]

46. Nelson is a Bu*h Dog DINO that corporations planted in our party in order

to sabotage effective Democratic legislation and ultimately destroy the party.

If we don't root out traitors like Nelson and elect real Dems in their place, the only thing we will ever get done that is relatively constructive is to slow down the republican agenda of destroying our democracy.

The Bu*h Dogs will always assist republicans in blocking all major progressive legislation, which will make the Democratic party terminally ineffective, and this will ultimately lead to a splitting of the Democratic party.

[Hepburn]

47. I mean this in the nicest way possible, Sen Nelson:

EAT SHIT AND DIE!

[bvar22]

48. Then it will time to tear The Democratic Party apart,

and build a NEW one around the Progressive Caucus.

The Democrats OWN The White House.
The Democrats OWN The Senate.
The Democrats OWN The House.
The Democrats OWN an overwhelming majority of the voters who support REAL reform.

There are No More Excuses!
The Democrats either perform,
or admit that Nader was right!

[Egnever]

55. I agree!

This round is the last round they get from me. Put up or shut up time.

[Canuckistanian]

50. There ought to be a minimum standard for Democrats

I know it's not the way things are done in America, but any candidate who runs for the NATIONAL party should make certain assurances of what their principles are and how their own opinions match the OFFICIAL PARTY PLATFORM.

Here in Canada, a Ben Nelson would be kicked out of the party so fast, his head would be swimming.

[barbtries]

51. he's wrong

i hope.

[Egnever]

54. Why do they always have to cut the quote out of the context?

when that is the headline of the story and all I see is the line they are touting by itself my BS meter always start to go off.

Not that Ben isnt a twit.

[donheld]

57. He's only saying that to cover his desire not to vote for it.

[Faryn Balyncd]

58. When a Senator walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and smells like a duck....

.......and says "60 votes are needed" like a duck......