Harry Reid says that the healthcare reform bill is bad for Nevada

  Despite President Obama’s plea to the joint session of congress support for his healthcare reform bill appears to be floundering. The president has already lost the votes of two RINOs, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and with the release of Max Baucus’s version of the bill Harry Reid voiced his displeasure with the proposed legislation. Harry Reid claims that this bill is not “good for Nevada” and he cannot support it.

While this draft bill is a good starting point, it needs improvement before it will work for Nevada

Let me be very clear, I will not bring a health insurance reform bill to the Senate floor that is not good for Nevada

  There appears to be a rift growing between members of the Democrat party and now the leader of the senate is on record as saying that this bill will not be sent to the floor for a vote without revisions being made.

  Harry Reid could be in trouble in his bid for re-election, his favorability rating with Nevada voters is not good. He faces the very real possibility that he will not win re-election. Reid knows that supporting this unpopular piece of legislation could be the final nail in his coffin and he is not willing to gamble his political future on this version of healthcare reform.

  If there is one thing that politicians crave more than anything else it is the power that comes with their positions. That is what ultimately will decide the outcome of this bill. With the defections of Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe the GOP has united unanimously against this bill. This leaves vulnerable Democrats deciding the fate of this legislation.

  Once Massachusetts finalizes the change in state law and gives the power to the governor to appoint Ted Kennedy’s replacement, (currently the voters are supposed to select his replacement in a special election due to a law change that Ted Kennedy engineered to stop Mitt Romney from appointing a Republican to replace John Kerry if he had won the presidency in 2004), the Democrats will have their 60 vote majority. They will not need one Republican vote.

  But with one third of the senate facing re-election the president may not be able to count on unanimous support. If the rumors are true the Democrats will resort to reconciliation to pass the bill with only 51 votes. If this is the case than it will be interesting to watch how those Democrats who face re-election vote.

  If Harry Reid can be used as a barometer this bill could already be doomed.