A Bit of Political Theater

It's no secret that the Senate Democratic leadership would like to vote on the health care reform bill before Christmas.  Looking to make this difficult, on the Senate floor today Republicans  used procedural maneuvers to force the reading of all 700-plus pages of an amendment to the health care reform bill.

It's a reminder that these arcane procedural rules are as important as they are difficult to understand.

In more substantive news, several Senators including Joe Lieberman, Jay Rockefeller, and Sheldon Whitehouse have a plan to bolster Medicare.  Lots of Senators, including Mark Warner of Virginia, have been working hard on cost controls.

Looming over all of this is still the question of whether Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska's staunch opposition to abortion will cause him to vote to filibuster the health care reform bill.