The beginning of the end

Rest easy America, the Senate Finance Committee has finally gotten through the business every other Senate and House committee got through months ago with the Baucus bill passing by a margin of 14-9. Olympia Snowe was the only GOP'er to vote for it. And so we move on inexorably towards health care reform, but not before another hundred infuriating things happen, dozens of politicians are wished dead, and the whole miserable process drags on so feebly that when it is passed we're all angry, thoroughly disheartened, and completely disillusioned even though the biggest reform of health care since Medicare just passed.

Many commentators have gone out of their way that politicians have been promising to get comprehensive health coverage since Teddy Roosevelt without success, so I'll just point out that literally any of those proposals, from Roosevelt's to Nixon's to Bush I's to Clinton's would have been much more preferable to what we got. But there we are.

If you're interested in such things the Times live blogged the whole Finance Committee failfest. Go through it and see if you can pick out what angers you the most. Whether it's Orrin Hatch bitching that the bill wasn't bipartisan just because his party spent all its time pissing and moaning about grandma murdering, smart people like Wyden and Rockefeller not having their smart ideas listened to, John Ensign complaining about the lack of tax breaks for senators who have healthy, in shape mistresses, Bill Nelson supporting the bill becuase Olympia Snowe supporting the bill made it bipartisan, I'm sure you'll find something to hate about the Senate. Then there was Press Secretary Gibbs prattling on about how today's vote was bipartisan. Who gives a shit? As if one Republican vote makes things bipartisan. As if people care more that the bill is bipartisan than it being a good bill.

Bleh. So we move on tow.....what's that, Joe Liberman? You want to butt in and say something? You want people to hate you with the fire of ten thousand suns?

LIEBERMAN: I’ve been saying for a couple of months now that I’m concerned, that I’m concerned that there’s a danger that we’re trying to do too much here and the president is trying to do two good things. But doing them at once in the middle of a recession may be hard to pull off.
...
IMUS: Do you support the Baucus bill?

LIEBERMAN: Not, not, no. I mean, not the way it is now.

Diediediediediediediediedie. Can't even celebrate this mediocre achievement for a day before you interject your sackless warbling, can we? I blame you, Connecticut, you're on fucking notice. I swear if Sean and I ever have robot armies that Minnesota District 6, the headquarters of every cable TV news outlet, Wall Street, and you are going to be taken out in the first wave.