Reid Loses Health Care Vote

There is often talk of reconciliation and nuclear options in the Senate, to be clear I don't think the democratic leadership can pull it off, case in point the latest mis-step by Reid over medicare payments:

Democratic leaders failed Wednesday to garner enough support in the Senate to consider a plan to permanently cancel an upcoming 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors.The Senate blocked the so-called "doctor fix" -- a 10-year $247 billion measure -- by a vote of 47-53, with 13 Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition. The plan required 60 votes to move forward.

The vote represents a setback for Democrats in their push for a sweeping overhaul of the health care system.The measure originally was expected to be part of the health reform legislation grinding its way through Congress now. But separating it allowed Democrats to prevent the measure from pushing health reform legislation over the $900 billion ceiling set by Obama. The president asserts that the 10-year plan will be paid in large part through savings in Medicare.

Republicans and several moderate Democrats opposed the "doctor fix" because it would be paid for by more federal borrowing for the seniors' health care program already steep in debt. They also opposed adding to the federal deficit, which hit an all-time high of $1.42 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Supporters of the measure, including the powerful American Medical Association and the AARP, argue that a long-term fix is needed to provide certainty to doctors, and thereby their patients, who fear the cuts and therefore refuse to treat Medicare patients.

Reid of course whine about the AMA for letting him down, it would come across as pathetic if not for the fact that we are talking about one of the highest ranking politicians in America.

A group of Democrats joined all Republicans in blocking a 10-year freeze of scheduled cuts to doctors' Medicare payments, legislation that was considered important to getting a broader healthcare bill through later this year.

Prior to the 47-53 procedural vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blamed the American Medical Association (AMA) for giving him bad information on the number of Republicans expected to support the measure.

Reid had offered the doctors group a deal to pass the "doctors' fix" in return for support from the doctors on President Barack Obama's broader healthcare initiative, which is slated for the Senate floor later this year.

It reminds me of nothing so much as the first TARP vote that Pelosi bungled and to be frank I don't think the Democratic leadership is savvy enough to pull these tricks off.