FOR SALE!!! My Vote in the Senate!!

Senator Henry Reid (D-Nv). Senator Mary Landrieux (D-La).  And especially Senator Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska. It seems to me that those three (at least) Senators have forgotten the old sports cliche 'there's no "I" in team'.  They each, in their own way, have sold out the American public for the sake of their own citizens during the health care debate. While following this debate, I would have thought that a Senator(s) would have sold out to the insurance lobby. How far off-base was that assumption? Well, that may never be known. However, the aforementioned Senator's have done the incredible: They have managed to get sweetheart deals for their constituents, all 1 million (give or take) of them, at the expense of the remaining 99% of the American public. But I would just love to focus on Nelson, and the party that has actually allowed this to happen.

Under the current health care reform (HCR) bill awaiting final voting, the citizens of Nebraska, which consists of Omaha, Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and some cornhuskers, are to receive free Medicare for life in exchange for Nelson's signature on the dotted line. Nelson was the final obstacle to passage of the HCR, and he knew it. He was aware that he could have anything he wanted, so, why not ask for it?

Two major issues I have are these. First, even knowing the power that he had in his pen and the "Yea" he had in his voice, how could Nelson contemplate screwing the rest of the country with a clear conscience? Trust me, I do understand an elected official taking up the fight for their constituents. After all, they voted him in, and they expect something in return. But I'm sure even Nebraskans have taken a step back and say WHAT?   Senator Nelson's main goal should be action for the betterment of the entire country, not his tiny place in the real world.

Second, and most alarming, is how in the hell could the rest of the Democratic Party allow this to happen? I'm sure this a behind-closed-doors decision with Reid. Why is the rest of the Democratic Party suddenly playing Helen Keller (no disrepsect intended) on this? Well, Landrieux got her modern-day 'Louisiana Purchase' for her vote, so she has no desire or need to speak out, no matter how this is so wrong. Where are my Senators from California? Oh yeah, Feinstein  and Boxer are in the back pocket of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. How does that work? Fifty eight Democratic Senators in Washington, D.C., and TWO of them run this country. I got it. And in  my sweet little world of wishful thinking, I thought that the President of the United States would have at least taken a stand against his party's failings. Silly me, and my stocking is full, too.

This situation is so morally and ethically wrong on so many levels it is hard to contemplate. I am not trying to denegrate the citizens of Nebraska. My maternal extended family is from Nebraska (Beatrice/Wymore). In fact, Governor David Heineman (R) has come out forcefully against Nelson's actions, speaking for his citizens in oppostion of these issues. Gov. Heineman has gone on record as saying that Nebraskans are not supportive of Nelson's behavior. So who, exactly, is Nelson trying to represent? It says here that Nelson has put the "I" in team, and I know that the public education system in Nebraska teaches students how to spell better than that.  Thanks for listening and your support and input. See ya'll after the Christmas break. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Fight on!