This story serves as a wonderful example of what conservatives have said about the Democrats favorite notions of how to "fix" health care in America.  That being to have the government just take the whole thing over in what is known as a "single payer system"...which means the government pays all the bills.

As conservatives have pointed out, when the government pays all the bills, it eventually moves to control the costs by rationing care.  And, with the profit motive gone, advances in medicine and the overall quality of care soon suffer.

During the course of the debate, both sides have held out countries such as Canada and England as representing what was "right" or "wrong" with this approach.

Well now comes this story from CBC News:

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States.

CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 60, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week.

The premier's office provided few details, beyond confirming that he
would have heart surgery and saying that it was not necessarily a
routine procedure. ...

One of the byproducts of the intense debate over ObamaCare and the proposed entre' to a government takeover of about 1/6th of our economy is a renewed interest on the part of state legislators in the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.  The amendment states:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.

In other words, the scope and power of the federal government is (supposed to be) limited, therefore it can't be construed to extend to allowing Washington DC to mandate that private citizens purchase a specific consumer product.  In this case, a health insurance policy.  (via the AP)

Although President Barack Obama's push for a health care overhaul has stalled, conservative lawmakers in more than two-thirds of the states are forging ahead with constitutional amendments to ban government health insurance mandates.

As everyone knows by now, Republicans now have 41 seats in the US Senate, which means that they can sustain a filibuster on issues such as ObamaCare, if they stick together.  And it's this change in Capitol dynamics that has led Democrats to entertain thoughts of trying to pass ObamaCare by getting around the filibuster rule and use what are known as "reconciliation" rules...which would only require a simple majority for passage.

In order for that to happen however, the Democrat leadership would have to get  at least 51 of 59 Democrats go along with the extraordinary measure and, as you can imagine, some of the more "moderate" Democrats are a little skittish about doing anything that blatant - especially since the election results in Massachusetts.

But now comes word that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson may be thinking about going along with the scheme...

Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson has flip-flopped again -- this time saying that he can back the controversial reconciliation process that the Senate may use to railroad the pro-abortion health care bill through the chamber. Nelson first flip-flopped on abortion funding.

Nelson drew the ire of the pro-life movement when he changed his mind on supporting a firm ban on all abortion funding under the bill and compromised with Harry Reid to force some taxpayers to fund abortions. ...

Here it comes!

In the wake of last week's Senate upset in Massachusetts, Democrats seemed to be backpedaling away from ObamaCare, but yesterday came word from Nancy Pelosi and other leading House Dems that they plan to keep trying.  Their plan is to try and push the Senate's version of health care "reform" through the House (with some changes), and then get the Senate to pass the bill in that chamber with a simple majority vote by using "reconciliation" rules to avoid needing 60 votes to break a Republican filibuster.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said last week she does not
have the votes to pass the Senate bill without changes. Democratic
congressional aides, speaking on condition of anonymity because the
issue is in flux, said the latest strategy involves using a special
budget procedure to revise the Senate bill.

The procedural
route _ known as reconciliation _ would allow a majority of 51 senators
to amend their bill to address some of the major substantive concerns
raised by the House. That would circumvent the need for a 60-vote
majority to hold off Republican delaying tactics.

In other words, they're going to try and "get around" the rules of the Senate, now that Scott Brown's there.

So why the sudden push?

Yes, the Democrat lost that race up in Massachusetts, but that's no excuse for not going full speed ahead and passing Obamacare. That's the message Paul Krugman in sending in his column today.

According to Krugman:

"This is your moment of truth. You can do the right thing and pass the Senate health care bill. Or you can look for an easy way out, make excuses and fail the test of history."

And they can also fail the test of political viability, which is, (I think), the one they are a little more concerned about right now. Krugman further proves he's out on Planet Insanity in declaring:

"The fact is that the Senate bill is a centrist document, which moderate Republicans should find entirely acceptable."

Centrist? One can't help but wonder just where does the "center" appear to be from Krugman's vantage point way out there on the margins...

Krugman also echos Rham Emannuel by suggesting that the House Dems simply have to pass the Senate's version, because that's the only way they can overcome the stigma that would otherwise be attached to them for having voted for it so far and failed to get it passed. (Yes, I know that
doesn't make sense). He says that not passing the bill:

Let me preface this post by urging my fellow Christians, conservatives, traditionalist and everyone you know,please boycott the TV series Criminal Minds. Their anti-Christian agenda has far and away exceeded common decency. Every other episode depicts some psychotic Christian who, surprise surprise, winds up being a mind washed killer , who cannot function without slaying and sadistically mascaraing some poor soul. These criminals are always white men who are blinded by obscure and out of context bible passages.

The American media is finally being exposed for what they are, left wing propagandist, nothing more. I am sorry, I forgot to mention how they pimp out tragedy and misfortune to entice the ever growing population of overweight, under read, Americans whose lust for instant gratification has led to wide spread drug use, and disfunctionality. The media conditions these lost souls with important consumer needs, compulsive habits, and unsubstantiated fears, all in between the "identity to the killer" at 9:00 and " How to control your children" at 10:00.

Not as though this should be a shock to anyone, but over the weekend the government's Chief Actuary for Medicare and Medicaid gave their official estimate of the impact of the Senate's version of health care reform on the government's balance sheet.

The result?  Red ink.  Two-hundred and eighty billion worth over the coming decade.

Via Human Events:

Regarding “Coverage,” CMS estimates that the measure will “reduce the
number of uninsured from 57 million under current law to 23 million”
primarily by increasing eligibility for Medicaid.  What this does is
shift the cost burden from the federal government to cash-short states.
It’s an accounting gimmick, not a cost savings. ...

The Obamacon's refuse to admit Islamic terrorist have engaged us, flight 253 seems to be an isolated indecent, of course! What other explanation would there be for a blithering idiot to ignite his trousers aflame on a plane carrying close to 300 innocent lives? Well, President Obama and you liberal rainbow chasers, let me fill you in. Islamic terrorist want America eradicated, they want your emotionally enlightened liberal hearts on a stick, with mine right next to it. Islamic terrorist want my children to die, they would cherish nothing more than to fill the statue of liberty with the burned up body's of our dead, doctors, teachers, scientist, volunteer fire men, drug addicts, and musicians... Getting it? ( Oh except maybe their court appointed lawyers)

The vermin who exterminated 13 of his fellow comrades at Fort hood, another isolated indecent? The fact that he had been communicating with other anti-American radicals leads me to believe that this particular slug is a small part of an enormously and obviously large movement that would have had enjoyed if he were to murder many more than 13. Yet our President and the liberal virus are frantically running interference and spewing denial, holding on to the hope that we are as stupid and naive as we were when we let them take over.