Pun Salad

Over the weekend—you may have heard—Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska got won over to supporting the ObamaCare bill by dubious restrictions on abortion coverage and (probably more importantly) the promise that Medicaid expansions in his state would be paid for at the Federal level, rather than by his state. (Does this mean that ObamaCare will be renamed OmahaCare?)

I've never been prouder to be an ex-Nebraskan (1961-1973).

As the Weekly Standard points out, Senator Nelson was a "cheap date," being bought off with $100 million; this is peanuts compared to what Vermont got ($600 million) and Massachusetts got ($500 million).

But of course, the ultimate cheap dates were the 54-or-so Democrat senators from other states who got $0 million each for their votes. This includes New Hampshire's own Jeanne Shaheen. Her vote could have stopped this monstrosity; but despite all her promises, she meekly went along with the rest of her party.

To appreciate just how big the lump of coal Jeanne and her 59 pals delivered into our collective Christmas stocking this year, read this Wall Street Journal editorial in its entirety. Sample:

The rushed, secretive way that a bill this destructive and unpopular is being forced on the country shows that "reform" has devolved into the raw exercise of political power for the single purpose of permanently expanding the American entitlement state. An increasing roll of leaders in health care and business are looking on aghast at a bill that is so large and convoluted that no one can truly understand it, as Finance Chairman Max Baucus admitted on the floor last week. The only goal is to ram it into law while the political window is still open, and clean up the mess later.

Amy Kane has a masterful collection of links on the topic, including the WSJ editorial. If you're not there already, they will move you into mad-as-Hell territory.