trying to call the DC office of my congressman but no answer. If they are debating today, shouldn’t that mean the offices will be staffed today?

If they had them, I think they’d vote ASAP.

From what I’ve heard, LOTS of people are descending on DC today. They’re bound to target any House member who they think they can sway on O-care.

Also, as people dig through the O-care, CBO-scored reconciliation bill, more and more flaws in it are bound to come to light.

I’d have to think that Team Obama wants to lock its people in before they get a chance to get cold feet and change their minds. Hence, they’d vote as soon as they could.

Time is not their friend. They have the authority to end this game whenever it suits them. They can call the vote whenever they want.

I agree with Dan; it seems they haven’t ended the game because they can’t.

I was just getting ready to jump out the window as soon as I finished my coffee.

gotta say it’s pi$$ed me off all week watching that faux count

You make a good point: if FOX makes it sound as if the fight is lost, intensity on our side will lessen.

I’m reminded of the 2004 Presidential election. The first exit poll numbers made it sound as if Kerry would win. Gloom started to settle over Republicans.

Then, Karl Rove got to Sean Hannity’s microphone and put out the word that the poll numbers didn’t make sense. He got the word out, and it helped.

Someone needs to go on Fox News and get this word out. Sooner rather than later, please.

…and I don’t know whether there’s one to be found. Ryan Booth at The Hayride has been following this for the last couple of days and up until last night’s fireworks with the Stupak late-night deal (which may or may not even hold up) Ryan had counted 217 “no” votes.

It looks like Pelosi is short. Seems like Fox News is off base. I agree that if they’re massaging the numbers it’s very troubling; of course, saying they have the votes and this thing is going to pass only gets people more angry at Congress and – as a by-product – watching Fox News. Might be good business, if lousy journalism.

But I don’t believe anyone that says its over before all the bargaining is done, at least not until the 72 hour period is over and Sunday is here. Its simply illogical for either side to say its over while there is still negotiating going on.

Even firedoglake justifies their count with seemingly decent evidence. Fox didnt even justify their count, They offered no quotes, nothing. Maybe ratings and riots would be good for business

I think it’s just sloppy reporting. It’s not the first time I have noticed the accuracy on Fox slipping a little, especially among those dipsticks on Fox & Friends.

In all likelihood, the health care bill WILL pass in the House, but it’s not a done deal yet.

Don’t push the “Kill Fox” button so fast. They are doing the best they can to report as fairly as possible.

The House MIGHT have the votes but they have to give 72 hours for review of the bill. That means, IF they have the votes now they HAVE to wait until Sunday. Because it will be 72 hours AFTER they released the bill for public review, which they did on Thursday.

I don’t want this legislation either and I hope that they don’t have the votes OR if they do now then some of the fence-sitter who have moved to “Yes” will be convicted in their conscience and vote “No” when the time comes.

PRAY!!!!

They have only a passing resemblance to journalism,, just like every other mainstream media organization today. For them, it’s all about the ratings, and nothing else.

Is the concurrent resolution strategy on, or have talks fallen apart?

Also, I don’t understand why Stupak would agree to a vote AFTER the Senate bill is voted on. At that point, Pelosi could not agree to take the concurrent resolution to the floor, and everyone would be stuck with the Senate bill. Stupak and his gang would have been played.

If Obama and Pelosi had been already successful in all their extortion, the vote would be right this minute. And the vote would be happening even if there was a hurricane or blizzard going on in DC.

Whether the bill passes or not, to report it passed now, is way out of line and way wrong.

I shut them off… too much pressure..

Living in MI, Stupak has had alot of pressure to stay firm… MI is not as liberal as people think. We are a pretty conservative state besides a few liberal counties….. I do not trust him, just assume he will cave and then hope for the best.

I will get my updates here… I cannot handle the stress….

Even Steny Hoyer admitted this morning that they do not have the votes yet.

Thanks for giving voice to my frustration, Dan. I’ve basically ignored any Fox News whip count, due to implausibility, all week long. If FDL and the other liberal sources can’t even find the votes, then whatever whip count Fox is pushing is completely untrustworthy.

By the way, doesn’t a “Stupak Deal” concurrent resolution throw a whole bunch of wrenches into the works?

If the House passes it, then the bill enrolled by the House is clearly not identical to the bill enrolled by the Senate (see the Marshall Field precedent). Thus, it would have to go *back* to the Senate – which the Senate clearly doesn’t want.

Hotair has up the whole list of amendments being given to the rules committee. each has to be voted. I think there’s 80 something. Its interesting, and will give you something to do while waiting on Stupak.

Even with Fox News, you have to take what ANY of the media say with a grain of salt—especially when it’s Carl Cameron. This is not a done deal yet. Keep calling and faxing today. Big Tea Party protest going on. These guys know they’re going to have to face their constituents. They know they’re going to have to face legal challenges. This is not over until the final vote.

Add to this Shepherd Smith insisting on calling all this “health insurance reform” as if the only parties affected will be those mean old insurance companies.

I think we learned in 1994 that it is not enough to put good people in positions of power and then walk away. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Having power will corrupt even the best of us.

Greg Scandlen

Erik joins with CNN folks amd now Redstate starts to attack Fox News. Interesting.

Larry Sabato has said the Democrats have the votes. Many conservatives pundits-Krauthammer for example-have said the Democrats will have the votes. Even Tom DeLay says it will pass. Maybe they are right; maybe they are wrong. But I don’t see Redstate criticizing them for demoraliing the troops. Only Fox gets single out for this.

Healthcare, amnesty, and cap-n-trade would have ALREADY passed under President Kerry and Vice-President Edwards if it weren’t for Fox News. I’ll cut them slack on their whip count-at this point-who really knows?

I am not sure how large a market there is of conservatives who love CNN, but think Fox News is “irresponsible”, but I guess we are all about to find out.

Just go to commercial with query: Tea Partiers Last Stand?

Hardly, Neil – Fox’s numbers are as bad as Delay’s counting – fact is no one knows what’s going on, but the point is that if they HAD the votes today, they’d vote today.

Stupak press conference is now off – this is after the last minute deal making – suggests that there is a hiccup in their efforts to pick off Stupak and his buddies.

FOX is always showing the numbers for Obama much better than Rasmussen (who has been right-on in the past). It IS discouraging to folks watching when they say–go home–its over–move along–nothing more to see here!

because it isn’t going to happen. The Talking heads want you give because the votes are in the bag. I’m not worried at all by the Talking heads on Fox News or CNN. Stick with Perrin and you won’t have a Heart Attack.

Excellent post, Dan.

If FOX was right, Pelosi would be all over this like wet on water.

She’d be holding a presser right now announcing that they’ve got their 216 and, with all the faux graciousness she could muster, invite the remaining fence-sitters to come in from the cold…. kinda like a darkside version of Zelda Rubenstein (RIP) inviting the spirits to “Come into the light, chiiiildren, aaaall are welcome, aaaaaalll are welcome!”

It’s one thing to have Obama, Pelosi, etc, professing confidence to every open mike – but shouting “WIND!” won’t move solid objects like a real hurricane would.

A full-on presser announcing “we’ve got our confirmed 216!!”……. assuming it wasn’t just another try at shouting “WIND!”…. would possibly constitute a real hurricane.

She’s not doing it – she’s not got the votes.

No voting = insufficient votes.

Bank on it.

We must keep our wits.

Triton

Fox opines that Nancy Pelosi must think that they have the votes, so no deal with Stupak.

But, the reality is – that Nancy has calculated that to give Stupak what he wants will get as many as 12 votes, but cost much more than 12 – hence, it is a losing proposition. That’s why the deal with Stupak is off. Mark my words – Tom Delay was exactly right.

Fox News is really disappointing me – I don’t want them to be a shill for Republicans. But, we report, you decide should mean we report news (not speculation, not guesses, not estimates, not opinion), and then you decide. Somewhere they have lost that basic principle.

Their “reporting” is very disappointing today.

Neither side “has the vote.” However, the Nays currently have the upper-hand.

Current Tally:

Ayes – 209
Nays – 210
Undecided – 12

My analysis:

Thirty-two Democrats are committed “No” votes. Ten of the undecided are pro-life Democrats, and they are still the biggest remaining obstacle to ObamaCare.

If Pelosi appeases the pro-life Democrats in order to secure their votes, she will lose fifty pro-abortion Democrats, and the vote will fail. If she doesn’t appease the pro-life Democrats, the vote will fail.

The Democrat leadership has confirmed that the Stupak language will not be included in the vapor bill, and Stupak has postponed his scheduled press conference.

The Democrats’ dilemma continues…

Remeber Bret Briar and his Obama interview on Special Report

Also: Foxnews is practically the only TV News network not in the hip pocket of the DNC. That includes CNN, even with Erickson….

Fox news reporting that the House has the votes by one or two will make their listeners rally in Washington, feverishly call their Senators, etc… It makes sense.

Liberal media claiming that they are close but do not have enough votes to pass rallies their listeners to take a stand this weekend. It also makes the “undecided” votes turn to yes votes because they want to make a bigger gap between the yays and nays. They would prefer to pass this bill with a wider margin.

If Krauthammer says it will pass. then Fox is reaching a ton of people who will listen and rally this weekend.

Rep Rob Andrews said on Washington Journal this morning “we’ll get there” when asked about the votes. Notice he didn’t say we’ve got them, or yeah we had them for several days. He’s saying we’ll get them. Just gotta chill.

Find the story at the Hill’s “briefing room”.

While Fox News wants to be on wrong side of history today, I’ll be on the right side. Today we are having Republican congressional candidates from three districts holding debates in one location.

I am proud to have been selected to open with the Star Spangled Banner, although I’ll be singing it with a huge lump in my throat. Where is our country headed?

Mark Levin was on Cavuto today and was very encouraging. He says we will never stop fighting! I hate the fact that I have to spend the rest of my life fighting, but it’s small potatoes compared to what our founding fathers endured to start a free country.

Stand up for our country and fight!

It has been noticed that with recent Saudi investment in Rupert Murdoch’s company a change of sorts has been happening, especially with regards to reporting about Israel.

See:

http://www.redcounty.com/trashing-wilders-foxnews-best-pr-investment-ever-made-saudi-prince-alaweed-bin-talal/37700

An excerpt:

“This is the latest evidence that makes Prince Alaweed bin Talal, the 22nd richest person in this world with wealth valued at over $16 billion in 2009 according to Forbes ,one savvy investor when it comes to influencing America’s opinion makers and ultimately the American public . about his version of Islam: Wahhabism . Bin Talal is the second largest stockholder of NewsCorp , Inc. that owns FoxNewsChannel . When he purchased 5.5 % of NewsCorp back in 2005, he immediately called his new found friend, Rurpert Murdoch and asked him to pull those lurid filmed segments on French Muslims youths torching cars in Paris, and other major cities in France and instead talk about caused these Jihadi-like outbursts: poverty and . unemployment. When that occurred, a lot us know then FoxNewsChannel was lost. So, when this Special Report segment aired last night, as night follows day, the pundits became an amen corner, to quote Pat Buchanan , not for Israeli, but rather for Saudi Arabian interests.

OMG

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTk1ZWIwYjRkMDA1MWNlYzdiNDJlODI4OTQzMmFiZGE=

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Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

… until I know for sure whether this reporting might convince a couple of ‘on the fence’ moderate Dems to feel safer about voting no early tomorrow (if they believe that Pelosi already has the votes without their neck on the chopping block).

Not saying that’s the plan, and maybe it is as bad as some have suggested (that this story line is payback for the Obama interview), but who knows.

…as of the 2008 DNC faux-primary-process…the feelings of desperation shared by many of you here at Redstate in relation to the Obama/Pelosi nightmare are the same feelings we — and we are many — former bluedog democrats felt as we watched the corrupt, elitist, liberal DNC leadership savage the sacred democratic processes of our founding fathers. Perhaps it will offer some consolation to you to know that people like me are seeing the naivety of their blind faith in the Democratic party. I am a wiser American citizen and voter as a result of the hijacking of my former political party by arrogant idealogues. I pray this healthcare socialism bill fails. If it doesn’t, have faith that a new groundswell is at work in this country that can reunify us and correct this horrible, horrible process — or lack thereof — which is driving the country straight into the left ditch.

Incidentally, though I have visited this site for months now, this is my first post. I guess I wasn’t sure if a former dem would be welcome?

http://corner.nationalreview.com/
Members in Question [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

Stupak swingers at the moment appear to be: Kaptur of Ohio, Berry of Arkansas, Cueller of Texas, and Rahall of West Virginia.

If you live in any one of these districts, you might want to buck your representative up.

Berry (202) 225-4076

Cuellar 202-225-1640

Kaptur(202) 225-4146

Rahall (202) 225-3452

He is simply dreadful at stuff like this – he needs to stick to business and stay away from politics. He comes off like a simpering idiot. He just said Dems have as much as got it in the bag – now he’s an irresponsible, simpering idiot! This family probably hates FNC almost as much as lefties do, for totally opposite reasons…

Rally split into 2 waves in DC 10:00 and 12:00.

Just in from Resistnet blog comments

“The Code Red Rally today has outgrown the Upper Center Park and has been move to the lawn in front of the US Capitol. There are two waves of people coming at 10 am and Noon.”

This is from one of the tea party groups attending.

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Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

To stop this we need not only continue to threaten Congresspersons with loss of job — but must also realize that many of them are now being offered immunization with promises of ambassadorships or other post-office golden parachutes.

We certainly need to keep threatening them, but also threaten the Democrat Party in toto — particularly their farm team. While normally I’m not a fan of straight-ticket voting, this legislation is, arguably, the greatest existential threat against our country in our lifetimes. So we need to contact state and local party headquarters, Democrats in elected office at all levels (call them at home on the weekend), and DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES AT ALL LEVELS, and tell them that if this is enacted we’re going to hold their entire party responsible and vote against every Democrat. IF we can build pressure from below — panicked Democrats at municipal and state levels calling Washington and telling the Democrats there that they’re going to “kill us” if they enact Obamacare, we’ve opened another leverage point to (hopefully) kill this thing.

IF YOU AGREE THAT THIS IS A GOOD IDEA, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD — WE DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME, AND THE MORE PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO THREATEN DEMOCRATS AT ALL LEVELS, THE BETTER OUR CHANCES OF SAVING OUR COUNTRY FROM THIS DECISIVE BLOW FOR STATISM.

Appearing below is a message I just emailed to FL Senator Nelson (D). Borrow the language if you like it. I also called the FL state Democrat party headquarters and talked to a person there (a young person who obviously had a sheet of talking points in his hand — so be prepared for this).

Dear Senator:

If this health care bill is enacted I will DEEM it my duty to not only vote against you, but to PASS on voting for every Democrat up and down the ticket.

Pass this collectivist bill, and I will hold all Democrats collectively responsible — not just in the 2010 election, but in every subsequent election in which that bill remains in force.

As if she’s saying something meaningful, to wit: talks are continuing.

Fox News has returned to the old Fox this morning. Rumor, sensationalism instead of News.

Word of advice to Fox: Stop trying to be first and just stick to being right.

I think that if they have the votes, they are going to call the vote when the 72 hours are up at Sunday 2pm. So they could have the votes for all we know, and not be announcing, because they still have to rearrange deck chairs at the last minute so as many Democrats in at-risk districts can vote against it as possible but still pass.

I really think it’s going to pass, they’re just waiting for the 72 hours to go up.

I love being wrong, though. Now would be a great time to risk a little and win a lot at intrade.com. 85% chance of passage by June 30th, and climbing.

A man called Ivan from Alabama just called into FBN. He immigrated from Bulgaria and spoke about communism in that country. He ended by saying “after communism Bulgaria tried to become like the United States. Why is the United States trying to become like Bulgaria?”

Very powerful. Why haven’t we tapped into this yet? We have so many immigrants from communist countries who escaped just this kind of control. We should have them writing into every newspaper and calling into every radio and television show!

Boehner a few minutes ago says Pelosi still does not have the votes for Demoaid/Obamacare.

Call.Email.March if you are anywhere near DC. But most of all…pray.

It is devastating. Milton Friedman was right then and he’s right today about health care in this country. This is everything I have feared about ObamaCare and why I have been fighting it so strenuously. It will relegate the United States to second-rate economic status because of our massive debt. I’m not a gung-ho military person, but how will the U.S. be able to maintain its military superiority if all of our taxes will have to go to pay for social welfare programs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704207504575130321235660474.html

Then they should read Dana Milbank’s editorial about why this bill will never be repealed once it passes. The benefits that come on immediately are low-cost and popular, and then we ease into the more expensive parts. But how are Republicans going to take away health care from 30 million people?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/19/AR2010031902636.html

We gained John BArrow (D) of Gergia who has confirmed as a no. …but bill owens and baron Hill both will vote for the bill

So sayeth thehill.com

FOX has indeed become the Weather Channel of news …

Turn every 3″ snow fall into a catastrophe of monumental proportions.

And their cluelessness about this president is stunning. O’Reilly in particular jerks my chain…”Barack Obama has our best interest at heart.” “Barack Obama would NEVER deceive the American public.” “Barack Obama is totally unaware of all of the marxists czars that have been appointed in his administration.”

That’s what a Harvard education does for you.

I don’t believe Dan is attacking Fox News because of Eric’s CNN deal. I’m sure they know there’s no way in hell most of us are going to start watching the Communist News Network on a daily basis.

Although I myself expressed disgust at Fox’s sloppy reporting, it is still miles above CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, the NYT, and all the other major news outlets. At least Fox isn’t bought and paid for by the Democrat Party – and I think they annoy the rest of us often enough to show they aren’t owned by the GOP, either.

That said, there is still room for improvement. The dingbats on Fox & Friends are prime offenders at sloppy and sensationalistic news stories – and the fact that it’s a morning show is no excuse.

when they were reporting from the WH. Can’t remember the reporter’s name, but it wasn’t Major Garrett. He reported that Paul Ryan stated something to the effect that he was sorry to be on the “losing” team and because of that statement the reporter insinuated that the Dems had the vote. I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now.

Everything is taken with a grain of salt. Everything.

The congressman is holding firm on his NO vote.

My first post. Thank you for having the testosterone to put your opinion on line every day. It is tough swimming against the current, but you have been un-wavering and if I were going into battle, I would choose 100 men just like you. Please keep us posted as you are the source I trust.

As for Fox news…. if we didn’t have Fox news we wouldn’t have anything. They are not perfect. When my Dallas Cowboys go for it with 4th and 43, I curse their stupidity, but I will always love them.

thanks and keep calling, faxing, e-mailing and PRAYING.

“Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), though, said Stupak’s group is holding firm.

He said that to support the legislation he needs an ironclad guarantee that Stupak’s language will be resurrected and enforced — whether the vehicle is legislation or executive action.

“There’s still time and they still need votes,” he said.

Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.), a close friend and ally of Stupak, also told POLITICO that the pro-life Democrats are holding the line and that their votes will be needed to pass the bill.

“Bart’s always said this’ll come down to Saturday night at 11 o’clock,” Pitts said”

Hold on Kaptur, Dahlkemper, Carney, Costello, Rahall, and stay with us Space, Mollohan, Bean, Ortiz and Company.

It’s here.

I’m still not seeing how they “square the circle” on this one. Unless some of the announced “No’s” are really “pocket votes” – but I’m not sure I believe that.

Yeas- ?

Nays- ?

There are still something like 30-40 undecideds they say. After all this time, and all the talk and debate, there are no undecideds.

Some are trying to avoid a ride on Air Force One, next to the door.

Some are trying to avoid the basement WH torture chamber, complete with whips and chains, and Cruella in black studded leather. Forget the woodshed.

Some are busy drafting their resignation letters because they will not be able to face their constituents after tomorrow.

Numbers will be updated tomorrow sometime between 4 and 6.

Admits that Democrat sources have confirmed: The Dems are between five and ten votes short of that required for passage of the Slaughter bill.

Apparently, the Democrat sources can’t get their numbers straight either…

An observation: Gridlock in Washington, both on and off The Hill, is not going unnoticed.

take.

He thinks it is going to be difficult for Pelosi to get the votes.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/The-state-of-play-in-the-House-88725462.html

Rep. Pence posted his count, via Facebook, a few hours ago. According to him, there are 209 “no” votes, 207 “yes” votes, and 15 undecided. We’ll see how this pans out tomorrow.

I agree that if Ms. Pelosi thought that she was anywhere near a majority for this, she would call for a vote in a heartbeat.

I have actually decided to close my Foxnews.com window (which I normally like for my news fix) until tomorrow night. I will count on just RedState & Hot Air for updates in the meantime!

Your posts do more than you can ever imagine for my peace of mind. As someone above stated, you are the source I trust the most on this issue.
I have been frustrated with Fox lately and their extremely overly optimistic count. I have turned all news off for the weekend (except for RedState, of course).

I appreciate all of your hard work. You rock.

http://www.timesreporter.com/newsnow/x99760320/Space-to-vote-no-on-health-care-reform-bill

I think with the cave in of some Stupak supporters, this will give Space cover. Just my take.

get some kind of “deal.” Just getting abortion funding out of the bill does not make it something any one with 1/2 a brain would want passed into law.

From Sacramento comes word Jerry McNerny i a yes on the hc bill. Oh well. He’s toast.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14719569

Fox News is part owned by Saudis, Murdoch increased his own holdings in the middle east in the past year, he despises people on the right, is embarrassed by them, his family despises them more. The staff was long ago told to treat Obama well, Ailes was forced to meet twice before Obama’s election about their treatment of him, once with Murdoch and Obama himself. The left has been after Fox News aggressively for a long time, they can see their efforts paying off. They won’t quit, no doubt have hundreds working around the clock on the matter. I don’t watch any cable news as I find it too upsetting. Murdoch’s paper the NY Post was crying to get Obama elected.

Just 9 undecided and she needs ALL of them and is STILL SHORT. If those “no and leaning no” aren’t solid now, I don’t know why they haven’t told anyone yet except to avoid phone calls from their leaders. Keep calling them!

“RedState doesn’t have the Fox Hater reputation of Crooks and Liars, but that doesn’t mean they can’t slip up too. Dan Perrin is up in arms over FNC’s running tally of House health care votes:”
-
‘FOX News ought to be ashamed of itself. Pushing their only two away, only one away, the Dems have the votes, they are at plus one in the Yes vote tally. They were wrong when they reported it and they are still wrong…. GOP House Whip Cantor says the Dems do not have the votes, so does FireDogLake…. You should fire the idiot doing your vote counting. He or she cannot do simple math, and are injecting guesses and certainty where there is little.’
-
“Simple math is exactly what FNC is doing. As they have stated repeatedly, their “whip count” is a straightforward mathematical formula. They take the earlier House vote on health care as the base, and when any member says he is changing their vote from then to now, they adjust the count accordingly. No guessing, no tricks, nothing subjective at all. Pure numbers.”
***
J$P: Fox Haters Week in Review
http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/blog/faj290908285.html

3/22, Ad Age: “Politically, Fox has also broadened its audience since the 2008 election as the divide between conservative and liberal-minded viewers

has been bridged.

A recent custom study with MRI, based on Nielsen data, found that 47% of Fox’s viewers had middle-of-the-road or undecided political views, more than CNN or MSNBC (46% each), and a 14% ratio of liberal-minded viewers (compared to CNN’s 19% and MSNBC’s 22%).

Even the Democratic Party and the Obama administration is starting to work with the network more as it finds more members of its base watching. President Obama gave a key, rare interview on health-care reform to Fox’s Bret Baier, although he accused his interviewer of interrupting him on repeated occasions.

“Having Obama do the interview with us underscores the point that our audience is extremely valuable and engaged — it’s not something you can afford to ignore,” Mr. Rittenberg said. “If it’s true for the president, it’s probably true for most advertisers as well.”"
Rupert Murdoch loves Obama. Even if he didn’t, the left has been working on taking over Fox news around the clock for years. Proctor and Gamble is the most politically correct of all major advertisers, has a lot to spend and that’s what Fox wants. The right cannot count on Fox news.