Sleigh Bells Ring For Senate On Health Bill

After one of the nastiest debates in recent memory, Senators duking it out over a health care bill have finally agreed on one thing. Voting on final passage of the huge health overhaul bill on Christmas Eve makes absolutely no sense. So they will vote at 8 a.m. instead.

Enlarge istockphoto.com

Senators to spouses: We will be home for Christmas.

istockphoto.com

Senators to spouses: We will be home for Christmas.

This is no small compromise. For days, Republicans who think the bill is the first step towards socialism or worse have said they would take every possible minute of debate time to prevent or at least delay the bill's passage. Their angry base expects no less.

But as it became clear that Democrats really had the 60 votes needed to overcome the GOP filibuster and pass the bill, the angry base began to be overtaken by the angry family members, worried about Senators missing the actual Christmas holiday.

So the final compromise has a final healthcare vote set for 8 a.m. Thursday, to be followed by a vote on a two-month extension of federal borrowing authority, followed by a much needed respite from having to see each other, at least for a couple of weeks.

Then the real work begins behind closed doors in January.