Supporters and opponents of health care reform met today in Rochester during dueling rallies over the lunch hour in front of DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office in Rochester. Liberal political action committee MoveOn.org began its rally at 11 a.m. in support of health care reform that includes a public option. About that same time, the Rochester Tea Party Patriots began arriving to kick off their own rally against the plan.
As both sides looked to voice their opinions in the wake of last weekend’s U.S. House vote in support of President Obama’s health care overhaul, neither side caused conflicts with the other.
Health demonstrations bring sides together
House Democrats have cleared an impasse over abortion that has been holding up a vote on sweeping health care legislation. A vote is expected on Saturday — after President Barack Obama makes a late morning trip to the Capitol to make one final pitch for the legislation. According to Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, he and other abortion opponents will be given a chance to insert tougher abortion restrictions into the legislation during debate on the House floor. The leadership hopes that no matter how that vote turns out, Democrats will then unite to give the health care bill a majority over unanimous Republican opposition.
A Democrat won a special congressional election in a heavily Republican district in northern New York by exploiting a battle between moderates and conservatives for control of the GOP. With 88 percent of the precincts reporting early Wednesday, lawyer and retired Air Force Capt. Bill Owens defeated businessman Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, 49 percent to 46 percent. Dierdre Scozzafava, a moderate Republican, withdrew from the race Saturday under pressure from the party’s right wing because of her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage. She still picked up 5 percent of the vote. Hoffman conceded the race Wednesday.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has won his third term as New York mayor.
Chris Christie, an aggressive former prosecutor who racked up a perfect conviction rate in public corruption cases and became the darling of New Jersey’s Republican Party establishment, has unseated the deep-pocketed but unpopular Gov. Jon Corzine. Christie, 47, today became the first member of his party in a dozen years to win a statewide contest in heavily Democratic New Jersey. President Barack Obama invested heavily in the race, campaigning with Corzine five times on three separate visits.
With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Christie had 50 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Corzine. Independent candidate Chris Daggett, who at one point had been feared as a potential spoiler, had about 5 percent. Christie accepted public financing in the race against the wealthy incumbent and was outspent by more than $12 million. He did get financial help from the Republican Governors Association and other national Republican groups, which bought television time in the pricey New York and Philadelphia media markets.
Professional basketball Hall of Famer Dave Bing has been re-elected Detroit mayor. The 65-year-old Democrat defeated accountant Tom Barrow in today’s nonpartisan general election. Bing’s NBA career lasted 12 seasons, nine with the Detroit Pistons. As mayor, he has laid off workers and demanded a 10 percent wage cut to help address the city’s ongoing budget deficit.
It was the fourth time Detroit voters cast ballots this year for mayor. Bing received the most votes in a February primary and defeated incumbent Ken Cockrel Jr. in a May runoff to complete Kwame Kilpatrick’s second term. Kilpatrick resigned as part of pleas in two criminal cases. Bing also received the most votes in the August primary.
Democrat Creigh Deeds has conceded the Virginia governor’s race to Republican Bob McDonnell after a lopsided loss. Deeds addressed a somber crowd, saying he had called McDonnell to congratulate him. With more than four-fifths of precincts reporting, McDonnell had about 60 percent of the vote. Deeds’ defeat comes one year after Barack Obama led a Democratic sweep of the state, handing the Republicans their first loss in a presidential race in 40 years.
Associated Press
ST. PAUL — Six Minnesota residents sued Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday over unilateral budget cuts he made without legislative approval, alleging he violated state laws and the state constitution.
The lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court names the Republican governor and three of his cabinet members. It seeks class-action status for everyone who will lose state aid for medically prescribed diets or get smaller property tax refunds for renters.
The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 today to back a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system, clearing the way for a historic congressional showdown this fall over how Americans receive and pay for their medical care. Thirteen Democrats and one Republican, Maine’s Olympia Snowe, voted to approve the measure. It would require nearly everyone to obtain coverage, bar insurers from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and make insurance plans easier to afford by providing lower-income consumers with financial help. It would cost an estimated $829 billion over 10 years and be paid for by taxes, fees and reductions in Medicare costs.
Democrats hailed the vote as an important milestone, the first time in memory that such a comprehensive health care revision has gone this far in Congress. “This is our opportunity to make history,” said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.
President Barack Obama said the vote “has brought us significantly closer to achieving the core objectives I laid out early in September,” but he also warned that “we’re not there yet.”
Senate committee approves health overhaul bill
The announcement and confirmation today that Iran has constructed a secret underground plant to enrich uranium raises the prospects that the United Nations Security Council will propose new international sanctions in attempt to derail Iran’s nuclear aobitions. The U.S. and its allies today gave Iran two months to comply with international demands to come clean on its expanding nuclear program, or face broader international sanctions, perhaps even targeting the country’s gasoline imports.
Experts don’t expect Iran to change course, making it likely that President Barack Obama will have to convince other nations to do as the U.S. and adopt financial sanctions. The U.S. has sanctioned more than 40 Iranian entities, including state-owned banks and construction companies. These sanctions have lacked a global buy-in, but that could change.
