Ben Nelson finally supports filibuster when it doesn't make any difference

Ben Nelson finally supports filibuster when it doesn't make any difference

cardcheck SenatorBenNelson SenatorScottBrown Unions

With Senator Brown seated, the Republicans had the votes finally to block something happening in the Senate. The nominee to the National Labor Relations Board was going to use regulations to push card check, so blocking the nomination was a big deal. Democrats had hoped to push back seating Brown until after the vote, so presumably they thought that at that time they had Sen. Nelson's vote.

When you talk to labor officials these days, much of their animus is directed at Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who helped filibuster Becker's confirmation.

"Ben Nelson has got principles until you buy him off," Gerard said.

A group affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, called Change That Works, had defended Nelson's support for an unpopular health care reform bill in his home state.

But the Nebraska director of that group, Jane Kleeb, now criticizes Nelson for not allowing the Becker nomination to come to the floor for an up-or-down vote. And Bill Samuel, legislative director for the AFL-CIO, accused Nelson of following a "double standard" since he had argued that the nominees of then-President George W. Bush should get up-or-down votes.

Another AFL-CIO spokesman, Eddie Vale, pinpointed Nelson, saying he had "let down" working families.

Nelson said Becker’s stance on labor issues made him worry whether he would be "impartial" in making NLRB decisions.

But labor unions can’t pin all their blame on Nelson. The failure of a wide range of union priorities has been deflating for the labor movement, which seemed destined to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Barack Obama’s presidency. . . .

"Sen. Ben Nelson Booed Out of Pizza Parlor"

"Sen. Ben Nelson Booed Out of Pizza Parlor"

SenatorBenNelson

Apparently voters are upset with Senator Ben Nelson for breaking his promises.

You may remember that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson cast the decisive vote in favor of a government health care takeover after, of course, securing a bundle of money for his home state.

Now it appears that that did not win him any friends in conservative Nebraska. Politico.com reports that Thursday night he and his wife were booed out of an Omaha pizzeria by angry customers who apparently yelled things like, "Get him out of here!"

There may be no consequences in D.C., but it's good to see that the good folks in the Midwest know how to hold their representatives accountable.

Some hope that the health care takeover will still be stopped

Some hope that the health care takeover will still be stopped

healthcare SenatorBenNelson Taxes

Ben Nelson is facing a lot of flak in Nebraska for breaking his promises on government funding of abortions and his pledge not to raise taxes.

As a fresh poll measured the political cost of Sen. Ben Nelson's health reform vote, he prepared Tuesday to take his case directly to Nebraskans during Wednesday night's Holiday Bowl game.
Nelson will air a new TV ad in which he attempts to debunk opposition claims that the Senate legislation represents a government takeover, and he makes the case for health care reform. . . .
The political damage Nelson may have incurred in providing the critical 60th vote that cleared the way for Senate passage of the health care reform bill showed up Tuesday in a poll released by Rasmussen Reports.
The telephone survey of 500 Nebraskans, conducted Monday, suggested Republican Gov. Dave Heineman would defeat Nelson in a potential 2012 Senate race by a 61-30 margin.
The poll showed Nelson with a 55 percent unfavorable rating and 64 percent disapproval for Democratic health care reform legislation.
"The good news for (Nelson) is that he doesn't have to face Nebraska voters until 2012," Rasmussen Reports stated in posting results of the survey on its Web site. . . .

Governors who had previously supported the health care legislation are now quite upset with what they are reading.

The governors of the nation’s two largest Democratic states are leveling sharp criticism at the Senate health care bill, claiming that it would leave their already financially strapped states even deeper in the hole.

New York Democratic Gov. David Paterson and California GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are urging congressional leaders to rework the Medicaid financing in the Senate-passed bill, warning that under that version their states will be crushed by billions in new costs.

After the Senate passed the bill in a Christmas Eve vote, Paterson said the expansion would leave New York $1 billion in the lurch. The state faces a $6.8 billion budget shortfall heading into the 2010 fiscal year.

“[I] am deeply troubled that the Senate version of the bill worsens what was already an inequitable situation for New York and I will continue to be an advocate on behalf of New Yorkers to ensure we are treated fairly by this critical federal legislation,” Paterson said in a statement.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schwarzenegger wrote that the legislation would create a “crushing new burden” for a state with a whopping $20.7 billion budget deficit. . . .

Why Senator Ben Nelson might vote against the health care bill

Why Senator Ben Nelson might vote against the health care bill

healthcare SenatorBenNelson

The polls show that Nelson would bear a big cost if he supports the health care bill.

In the survey (500 LVs, 12/14-15, MoE +/- 4.5%), respondents were asked: "In general, do you favor or oppose President Obama's plan to expand health care coverage to most Americans even if this plan increases the role of the federal government in health care and increases the cost of the deficit." Two-thirds responded that they oppose it, compared to 26 percent who favor it.

But it should be noted that the wording of the question differs significantly from the question other firms ask, and Democrats and the White House contend that their plan would actually reduce the deficit. On another question, 39 percent say they favor "major changes" in the current health care system, and another 8 percent say a new system should replace the current one; 46 percent say only minor changes are needed.

The real warning for Nelson, who holds what may be the 60th vote for Democrats, comes in this result: 61 percent say that if Nelson votes for the current plan, they are less likely to support him for re-election in 2012; 26 percent say it would make them more likely to support him. . . .