ben nelson

In the wake of Saturday’s Senate vote to take up the chamber’s health reform legislation, the focus of the debate has shifted back to the public option, over which no fewer than four Democratic caucus members — Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) — have threatened to [...]

TPMDC’s Brian Beutler reports that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) has announced he plans to vote to send the Senate health care bill to the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled the vote for Saturday night.
“This weekend, I will vote for the motion to proceed to bring that debate onto the Senate [...]

On the Fence
Likely Supporters
Likely Opponents

9
51
40

On the Fence

Senator

Stance

Home State Data*

Evan Bayh (D-Ind.)
Rachel Maddow Show: “Sen. Bayh told us it is extraordinarily unlikely that he would filibuster health reform. He said there is nothing in the bill he is aware of now that would cause him to vote to filibuster and he said that he currently ‘can’t [...]

I usually ignore partisan Web videos that aren’t backed by real media buys, but this one out today from the Republican National Committee, a sequel to this one, is fascinating in its convoluted logic.
It goes like this. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the RNC reminds us (three times!) once said that he voted for $87 billion [...]

Congress this year is on a tear against bad behavior in the corporate world. Lawmakers have passed credit card reforms to protect Americans from the worst abuses of the big banks; they’re moving now on health reforms to protect Americans from the worst practices of the insurance industry; they’re pushing new finance regulations to protect [...]

As Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) marks his line of opposition to a public insurance plan in the Democrats’ health reform bill, it’s worth noting that no industry has given more to Nelson’s congressional career than the insurers. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign contributions, insurance companies have donated nearly $1.3 million to Nelson [...]

Sen. Ben Nelson, the conservative-leaning Nebraska Democrat, vowed to filibuster health reform legislation if it includes a public health insurance plan, ABC News reported yesterday.

“Well, first of all, it has more than a robust public option, it’s got a totally government-run plan, the costs are extraordinary associated with it, it increases taxes in a way [...]

Several farm-state senators are looking to include a provision in a major appropriations bill that would significantly increase the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline, despite concerns about the impacts.
Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) are reportedly considering (sub. req’d) offering amendments to force the Environmental Protection Agency to raise the blend level [...]

Here’s a quick wrap-up of today’s health care news.
More reactions to the Baucus bill today. Four key moderate senators — Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and the most key moderate senator, Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) — penned a statement praising Baucus’ efforts. “We are encouraged by his commitment to work with both [...]

Manu Raju talks to Senate Democrats about the Glenn Beck-driven, almost entirely hysterical campaign against “czars.” The fuel: a letter written by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) about “czars.” I’ve reprinted the letter below the jump, but the key bit is this:
I respectfully urge you to disclose as much information as you can about these policy [...]