House passes historic health bill, Politico, November 8, 2009, by Patrick O’Connor, excerpts quoted verbatim:

The House of Representatives passed legislation for the first time Saturday night that would provide health coverage to almost every American after nearly a century of false starts and un-kept campaign promises.

The final vote was 220-215. In all, 219 Democrats voted to approve the measure in a largely party-line vote, with 39 Democrats voting no. One Republican supported the bill, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.).

The bill has a steep cost – both in dollars, $1.2 trillion, and political capital – but Democrats hailed its passage as the next chapter in a governing legacy that produced Medicare and Social Security.

“Oh what a night,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said moments after the vote, after fielding a congratulatory call from President Barack Obama. “Without President Obama in the White House, this victory would not have been possible. He provided the vision and the momentum for us to get the job done for the American people.”

Obama has made health care reform his signature legislative priority — and he put his personal prestige on the line Saturday by traveling to the Capitol to rally Democrats, telling them to “answer the call of history” by passing the bill.

…SNIP…

Fights over abortion, immigration and the size of the federal government exposed long-standing cultural and regional divides within the disparate Democratic caucus. A last-minute abortion fight left a particularly bitter taste in the mouth of Democratic women who spent the early part of their careers fighting for reproductive rights.

“People are furious,” said Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette.

After hours of negotiations with a group of abortion opponents, led by Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pelosi made a final painful sacrifice to pick up crucial support, allowing a vote on an amendment sponsored by Ellsworth and Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak that would bar any insurance company participating in the exchange program from covering the procedure.

Stupak’s amendment passed with a vote of 240 -194-1. Republican Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona was the one present vote.

On abortion, the two sides engaged in a fevered debate on the House floor hours before the House approved the overarching health care bill, with DeGette calling the amendment “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Pelosi ally, saying, “It attempts an unprecedented overreach.”

But in the end, Democrats, like DeGette, subverted their political prerogatives and personal anger for a bigger goal – providing health care to 96 percent of the country.

See “The Next Phase of Healthcare Apartheid” and “What the Hell??!?!? (Happened to Single Payer),” below on Evans Politics and read my commentary there regarding the bill being a compromise/giveaway to the health care industry which will end up hurting a lot of Americans.

See Historic healthcare overhaul passes House, Los Angeles Times, November 8, 2009, by Noam M. Levey and Janet Hook.

See Health Care PASSES: The Scene In The House When It Happened, The Huffington Post, November 8, 2009, by Ryan Grim.

See The real traitors tonight (Yes on Stupak, No on HCR), Daily Kos, November 7, 2009, by sharedferret, excerpt quoted verbatim:

We had a total of 64 Democrats that voted “Yes” to the Stupak amendment, which added an unnecessary and excessive anti-abortion provision to the House healthcare bill that was passed tonight. However, there were a total of 23 Democrats that voted Yes on the Stupak amendment, and then followed that up with a “No” vote on the final healthcare bill vote. These 23 Democrats intentionally voted for the Stupak amendment to actively impair the Democrats’ healthcare bill, something far worse than a simple “No” vote on the bill.

See HCR Passes: Kucinich Can Bite Me, Daily Kos, November 7, 2009, by BooMan23, excerpt quoted verbatim:

Some people wonder why I am not a fan of Dennis Kucinich and don’t take comfort when I look along the trench and find him fighting by my side or, especially, carrying my banner. Well, he voted against health care reform tonight. He can provide any reasons he wants, but I’d note that the only Democratic women in the entire House to vote against the bill (Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota, Suzanne Kosmas of Florida, and Betsy Markey of Colorado), are from very conservative districts. The women of the Democratic caucus swallowed hard when the Stupak-Pitts amendment passed, and they voted to go ahead with reform. So, please don’t try to tell me that the pro-life-’til-the-day-he-decided-to-run-for-president Kucinich voted no because he was standing up for women’s rights.

I presume he voted no because this bill isn’t a single-payer bill. But he and Rep. Massa of New York are the only two proponents of single-payer to vote against reform. And Massa is just looking for cover because his district is very conservative. What really happened is that Kucinich wants attention and wants to be holier and purer than everyone else. I’d have to hold my nose to vote this bill, too, but look around, Dennis. You’re all alone. Again.

See NEW POLL: Dems Who Oppose Public Option Bill Today Will Lose Obama Voters in 2010, Daily Kos, November 7, 2009, by Stephanie Taylor.

See the Final Vote Results, here.

House Passes Health Care Bill

Associated Press – 1:46