The
Senate will vote shortly on the Blunt amendment to allow any employer to dictate the health care of his employees.
In this case, they are voting on whether to table the amendment, so here's how it will go down. They need 50 votes to table. Since this is a motion to table, opponents of the Blunt amendment will vote "YES" and supporters of Blunt will vote "NO," because they are voting on the question, "Do you want to table the Blunt amendment?"
Sen. Susan Collins, (R-ME) just announced that she will vote with Blunt, interestingly enough. Sen. Collins has apparently decided that there's no longer any future in being a "moderate" or in standing up for women. With just 46 Republicans present (Sen. Mark Kirk is out), they would need four Democrats to cross over, and can't lose any of their own caucus to prevail.
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) is a cosponsor of the amendment, so he'll be a no. Other Democrats to watch are Joe Manchin (WV), Bob Casey (PA), and Claire McCaskill (MO).
8:29 AM PT: Props to Sen. Frank Lautenberg for this in his floor statement.
When it comes to women, they don’t get rights. They get restrictions… I have five daughters and eight granddaughters, and the one thing I worry about more than anything else is their health. I like to see their happy faces. I like to see them feeling good… So I want them to have doctors making decisions, not some employer who has a self-righteous moral view that he wants to impose on my daughter, my granddaughter, my wife. Nuh uh. On our side of the aisle, we believe that women are capable of making their own healthcare decisions.
8:36 AM PT: Watch on C-SPAN2.
8:42 AM PT:
8:44 AM PT: Aye votes to note: McCaskill, Snowe.
8:45 AM PT: No votes: Casey, Manchin, Murkowski, Ben Nelson. They're still voting. Remember, yes votes in this case are good, no votes bad.
8:46 AM PT: Scott Brown a no. Good for Elizabeth Warren.
8:48 AM PT: Ridiculous vote from Bob Casey, and totally unnecessary.
8:50 AM PT: Lieberman decided not to be a dick today. Voted "aye."
8:52 AM PT:
Eagerly awaiting new Joe Manchin ad in which he puts a bullet through a condom wrapper from 20 yards away
— @BenjySarlin via TweetDeck
8:56 AM PT: Ayes 51, Nays 48. That was too close for comfort.
