Why all the secrets?   

I agree. THey don't want us to know how bad the deal is until it is too late for us to do anything about it. If it was a great bill that would actually help us the average person they would let us see it and know what is going on.

You supported the PATRIOT Act, didn't you? Bush and his minions pulled out this huge, unreadable bill, told Congress "if you do not vote Aye on this I will tell your constituents you're unpatriotic and destroy your political career" and demanded an up-or-down vote on it.

And if you've ever tried to read the PATRIOT Act you'll see what a really disgusting bill is: most of it is "In line 3 of the fifth paragraph of chapter 6, 18 US Code 405, strike the word "not." So now you've got to dig out 18 USC 405, find chapter 6, and go to line 3 of the fifth paragraph to find that Bush wants "police will not have the authority to kick down your door at three in the morning" changed to "police will have the authority." (Which also explains why the PATRIOT Act is 350 pages long instead of 2500 pages long--the meat of the Act is in the 108 sections of the US Code the PATRIOT Act amends.)

"You supported the PATRIOT Act, didn't you?"

No, I didn't. The PATRIOT Act was a piece of unconstitutional garbage which Obama ALSO supports and wants to EXTEND. So now that your crap assumption and "Bush did it too" garbage is out of the way, go ahead and try to tell me how I'm wrong.

ROFL!!! someone programmed jmowreader pretty good didn't they.......typical canned, statist response.

Oh...and jmowreader, how do you feel about Obama extending diplomatic imunity to InterPol agents?

It's hard on my stomach to see this.

If you even slightly disagree with anything Obama and-or any other liberal politician does, then you MUST have agreed 100% with everything Bush did, so neener!

Borrowing that weak logic from a$$hats at MSNBC and the liberal blogosphere trolls is one thing, but to actually read someone's discussion, someone's response, click a button, write it out, and click two more buttons just to repeat it is another entirely.

It's scary.

Maybe Ron Paul had it right if you can't give me a bill of 1 or 2 pages and show me in the Constitution where you have the power to do this then I won't sign it. If we ever get to read the Health Care bill we will see that it contains the same "see page 3, par 4, sub par 3, letter c" type language.

jmowreader knows two things about diplomatic immunity:

1. There are 184 embassies operating in the Washington Metro Area. Every foreign country in the world with the exception of the handful of rogue states we don't have diplomatic relations with has one.

2. Embassies are nothing more than spy stations. Every one of them, without exception, has spies in it working against the country they're in, and they've all got diplomatic immunity.

I think I feel a LITTLE safer about people from Interpol running around with diplomatic immunity than I do with the Cuban DGI resident or the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence resident running around with it.

wow jm...you are gone.....
well....I'll just let them know that you don't have any objections, that your rights are of no importance to you so they can go ahead and kick your door in if they want because your ok with them doing what ever they want..

I agree. Vote them out and get term limits on their butts.
This healthcare bill has nothing to do with "national" security so it should be open and I mean completely open for the american people to see the WHOLE process.

Benefits strengthening the democratic party and at the same time making government morph into even more huGe and more powerful government.. and what a boon! all paid for with taxpayer (free) money!

there has not been a lot of transparecny in this administration or congress. They have just paid lip service to it and then continued with business as usual.

I agree. I fully exspect not to fully know what is in the bill untill after it is voted on and too late to do anything about. It will be crammed down our throats wether we like it or not.
Which is bad for us. And I hope costs ALL of them their jobs come re-election.

"Socialism is great....until you run out of other peoples' money".
Then when it is "your" money.....socialism sucks. LOL

I do hold them responsable, all of congress. All the oposition to each other is nothing more than political theater. The dems want to look like heros, the republicans want to look like genuine heartfelt people's oposition....BOTH are full of shytte.
But it doesn't make the crime of the comgressional majority leadership of conducting their business in secret any less loathsome...it's wrong...period. YOu and I both know damn well nothing good is going on behind those doors and that none of it has anythng to do with being kind hearted and offering every american the ability to pay for their healthcare.
If Obama had a spine though he would stand up to the dictateress and refuse to take part in any further discusions on it untill the process is opened as he promised.

In fact, if he really meant it, he would threaten to veto any bill unless the debate on it was done publicly.

"there's a possibility it may be in part televised on C-SPAN"

LOL, yeah, there's also a possibility that Obama will dress like a chicken and dance in front of the White House, but that's no more likely to happen than any of their backroom dealings being televised on C-SPAN. When Gibbs was asked about Obama's promise the other day he flat out refused to answer the question.

"I've heard assurances there will be frequent updates made public and put online."

I have to hand it to you Annie, you sure are a true believer. Do you still believe Obama's assurances regarding lobbyists, transparency, C-SPAN, and the round table with doctors and insurance companies?

"I truly believe the Democrats' hands were forced in this."

How EXACTLY were Democrats FORCED to hide their negotiations from the public. We'll pretend for a moment that Republicans would have made the debate impossible somehow if they were not shut out. How does that force the Democrats to not allow C-SPAN cameras to watch them in their closed door deals and bribes?

"the Senate Finance Committee wasted weeks trying to appease just ONE member of the opposition"

I know, they must be so angry that she couldn't be bought with a $300,000,000 bribe like Nelson and Landrieu.

"In fact, if he really meant it, he would threaten to veto any bill unless the debate on it was done publicly."

Come on X. He already threatened, excuse me, PROMISED to veto bills loaded with earmarks, while he has basically laughed (or had Gibbs do the laughing) at Republicans who call on him to keep his promise regarding bills with thousands of earmarks. What I'm saying is that talk is cheap. Obama just tells people what they want to hear.

annie,
I feel this is one of the most important bills of this session. It has NO bearing on national security so ALL of it should be done on the floor and televised for the american people to see. This bill is too important to cut the american people out of the process. Nor should we tolerate being shut out of it.
I don't trust them to make a good much less decent deal. None of them. Not unless they KNOW everything they say and do are matter of public record and that the voting american public are watching every more they make.
I don't want "updates" (propragenda and spin by both sides). I want to be able to turn on C-span and actually see for myself what is going on and by who. That would cut the BS down going on by both sides. If America is watching.....well the want to get re-elected so they will behave better.
Plus it gives the american public the chance to have our voice heard BEFORE it is voted on. It is not their job to dictate to us how we will live...we dictate to them how we will live. Don't forget that. We are the boss...not them.

Distraction is right. Our rights and freedoms are being eroded.

HOmeland Security scares me worse than the terrorists.

yep. They know we would scream, rant and rave if we knew so they are going to wait to let us know about it until it is voted on and passes....too late for us to do anything about it.

For all their talk.....they are not better than Bush and his Admin.
Neither really wants transparancy and both just want the american public to sit and take whatever they dish out...no questions or comments allowed.