Max Baucus is a tool. "We can't get 60 votes for a public option so I have to vote against it." Well, gee, Max, maybe if you voted for it and actually worked for it, you could get your fellow ConservaDems on board. You failed, Max. On more levels than we've even been able to count.
The vote is happening very soon. Rockefeller is making his final statement. After this, Schumer's two bills.
Rockefeller: Hitting insurance companies, and R support for them, hard. "To me, it is obscene to be spending that amount of money on health insurance companies and not on people's care.... What is wrong with giving people choice?"
Update: You can watch on DKTV, C-SPAN3, or the livefeed from Committee.
Update 2: Thank you Sen. Rockefeller, for making a strong moral argument. We haven't heard that enough.
Update 3: 8 ayes. 15 nays. Baucus, Conrad, Carper, Nelson, and Lincoln were nos. Schumer's level playing field option, which I believe is up next, should at least get Nelson, but that will probably be the only pick-up.
Update 4: As expected, Nelson will support Schumer's "level playing field" public option amendment. This is the first of two he's slated to offer, the other is the HELP committee version of the public plan.