U.S. House descends into chaos (5 UPDATES!)

November 7, 12:12 PMColumbia Conservative ExaminerAnthony G. Martin

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NOTICE!  5 important updates are at the end of the article, including full contact information on members of the House who need to hear from citizens NOW.

In the midst of a frantic effort to get a healthcare bill passed before a recess next week, the U.S. House of Representatives descended into something closely akin to chaos.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The House leadership led by Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and other top Democrats desperately wants to pass the bill they put together, which includes taxpayer funding for abortions, full coverage for illegal aliens at taxpayer expense, healthcare rationing for the elderly, fines and jail time for those who fail to purchase health insurance, and the dreaded 'public option'--which will have the effect of driving private health insurers out of business.

But freshmen Democrats who were elected last year in primarily Republican districts are shaking in their boots at the prospects of being tied to such an agenda, which has been shown to be very unpopular among the citizens.

In addition, the so-called 'blue dog Democrats' are feeling the heat about the provision for abortions in the bill and have insisted they cannot vote for the measure if such a provision remains part of the legislation.

And, of course, the 'public option' remains fairly unpopular among moderate and conservative Democrats.

Thus, after the House leadership announced there would be a vote on the bill possibly as early as today, the Democrats admitted that they lack the votes to approve it.  This threw everything into a tailspin as frantic Democratic leaders tried to cut deals in back rooms, offering compromises on abortion funding.

As it stands now, the vote has been delayed until Sunday at the earliest.  Some insiders say there is no chance for a vote until Tuesday.  Still others claim that the House leadership will not get the necessary number of votes to risk being defeated on the floor.

Clearly the Democrats are feeling the pressure from angry citizens who are livid that their representatives would even consider such a massive overhaul of the U.S. Healthcare System just to provide insurance coverage for around 8 million people at the most.  Citizens are intelligent enough to see right through this and recognize it for what it is.  This is not about healthcare insurance at all.  This is about seizing control of a large portion of the U.S. Economy and placing medical care under the domination of the federal government.

An estimated 10,000 people showed up in a hastily-planned citizen protest at the Capitol Building on Thursday.  U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, R-MN, fired up the crowd with a rip-roaring speech, upon which citizens entered the Capitol en mass to talk face-to-face with their representatives about opposing the ObamaCare-PelosiCare legislation.

It is clear that, given the 100% GOP opposition to this government takeover of healthcare, the Democrats are having trouble garnering support for the bill within their own ranks.  The disarray this has created is indicative not only of how unpopular the plan is among the citizenry but the degree to which the citizens have struck fear in the hearts and minds of their representatives.

For more information:    House Ways and Means Committee   The Hill    House Opens Debate    Bloomberg

UPDATE ALERT 1!   Michelle Malkin is liveblogging the debate on the House floor.

UPDATE 2:  Catherine Welborn at Change the Congress in 2010 has provided the following contact information on the Democrats who need to hear from the citizens NOW concerning this attempt at a government takeover of a 6th of the U.S. economy:

n09ima@mail.house.gov
mike.ross@mail.house.gov
drew.goesl@mail.house.gov
john.zody@mail.house.gov
ashley.jones@mail.house.gov
joe.bonfiglio@mail.house.gov
donna.pignatelli@mail.house.gov
stacey.alexander@mail.house.gov
stuart.chapman@mail.house.gov
tim.mccann@mail.house.gov
meg.joseph@mail.house.gov
kate.haas@mail.house.gov
sharon.wheeler@mail.house.gov
sam.marchio@mail.house.gov
angela.kouters@mail.house.gov
brad.morris@mail.house.gov
pia.carusone@mail.house.gov
susan.mcavoy@mail.house.gov
howard.bauleke@mail.house.gov
matt.walker@mail.house.gov
april.metwali@mail.house.gov
scott.fairchild@mail.house.gov
beecher.frasier@mail.house.gov
elizabeth.hart@mail.house.gov
ron.carleton@mail.house.gov
melanie.morris@mail.house.gov
hayden.rogers@mail.house.gov
bob.siggins@mail.house.gov
candace.abbey@mail.house.gov
trish.reilly@mail.house.gov
cori.smith@mail.house.gov
denis.fleming@mail.house.gov
lisa.quigley@mail.house.gov
joel.elliot@mail.house.gov
peter.chandler@mail.house.gov
charles.jefferson@mail.house.gov
tessa.gould@mail.house.gov
timothy.bergreen@mail.house.gov
john.hess@mail.house.gov
linda.macias@mail.house.gov
phyllis.hallmon@mail.house.gov
terry.stinson@mail.house.gov
adrienne.elrod@mail.house.gov
jason.buckner@mail.house.gov
mark.brownell@mail.house.gov
scott.nishioki@mail.house.gov
stephen.peranich@mail.house.gov
jennifer.walsh@mail.house.gov
vickie.walling@mail.house.gov
chad.causey@mail.house.gov
dean.mitchell@mail.house.gov

PHONE NUMBERS

AK Artur Davis 202-225-2665
AL Parker Griffith 202-225-4801
AR Marion Berry 202-225-4076
AZ Raul Grijalva 202-225-2435
AZ Harry Mitchell 202-225-2190
CA Sam Farr 202-225-2861
CA Dennis Cardoza 202-225-6131
CO Jared Polis 202-225-2161
CO John Salazar 202-225-4761
CO Betsy Markey 202-225-4676
GA Jim Marshall 202-225-6531
IA Leanard Boswell 202-225-3806
ID Awalt Minnick 202-225-6611
IL Melissa Bean 202-225-3711
IL Bill Foster 202-225-2976
ILD aniel Lipinski 202-225-5701
IN Baron Hill 202-225-5315
KS Dennis Moore 202-225-2865
MD Frank Kratovil 202-225-5311
MI Dale Kildee 202-225-3611
MI Mark Schauer 202-225-6276
MI Bart Stupak 202-225-4735
MN Collin Peterson 202-225-2165
MN Jim Oberstar 202-225-6211
MO Ike Skelton 202-225-2876
MS Gene Taylor 202-225-5772
NC G.K. Butterfield 202-225-3101
NC Brad Miller 202-225-3032
NC Bob Etheridge 202-225-4531
NC Heath Shuler 202-225-6401
ND Earl Pomeroy 202-225-2611
NM Harry Teague 202-225-2365
NY Yvette Clarke 202-225-6231
NY Eric Massa 202-225-3161
OH Marcy Kaptur 202-225-4146
OH John Boccieri 202-225-3876
OH Dennis Kucinich 202-225-5871
OH Zack Space 202-225-6265
PA Kathy Dahlkemper 202-225-5406
RI Jim Langevin 202-225-2735
SD Stephanie Herseth Sandlin 202-225-2801
TN Steve Cohen 202-225-3265
TN Lincoln Davis 202-225-6831
TN Bart Gordon 202-225-4231
TX Chet Edwards 202-225-6105
UT Jim Matheson 202-225-3011
VA Gerry Connolly 202-225-1492
VA Tom Perriello 202-225-4711
VA Rick Boucher 202-225-3861
VT Peter Welch 202-225-4115
WA Brian Baird 202-225-3536
WI Steve Kagen 202-225-5665
WI Ron Kind 202-225-5506

Update 3:  The House struck a deal to add an amendment to the legislation that essentially specifies that no federal money will be used to cover abortions in the healthcare plan.  However, according to House Minority Leader John Boehner in a conversation he had with Democrat Charles Rangel, there  are no guarantees that this amendment will survive House-Senate negotiations on a final bill.

Update 4:  Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to speak before the House very shortly (it is now 6:33 PM, EST).  She insists that there WILL be a bill no matter what late tonight, even if it means the House stays in session into the wee hours of the morning.  NOTE: This Congress is famous for passing sweeping legislation in the middle of the night when most Americans are asleep.

Update 5:  Michelle Malkin continues liveblogging the debate and vote.  Although Michelle is speaking at an event this evening, her associate is continuing the process on her blog.  Click here:  Liveblogging Part 2--The Hurry Up House Debate on Healthcare.

For commentary on other issues, visit my blog at The Liberty Sphere.