Article by Guest Blogger BobbiV

Last night the United States Senate voted to allow the health care reform bill to come to the floor of the Senate for debate. The vote fell straight along party lines with 60 yeas and 39 nays.  Ohio Republican Senator Voinovich did not vote.

This might not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but let me tell you it is a big deal.  Every step from now on and every win puts us much closer to having real health reform in this country.

This vote also showed reluctant Democrats what can happen if we stick together.  Don’t ever think that isn’t important.  Democrats appear to be getting their legs under them with leadership and that is a very good thing.

It was really remarkable to watch Senator Chris Dodd (D-Ct) and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) as the vote was announced.  Senator Dodd announced it from the chair and looked like a smile was bursting out of him.  Leader Reid was on the floor as he accepted the count from the chair and looked as though he might just laugh at any moment.  It reminded me of two kids caught in a giggle storm that don’t dare look at one another because they will burst out laughing.

However, decorum had to be upheld.  This is the Senate, after all.  Applause, cheers and outbursts are not allowed on the floor.  But, can you imagine the high fives and laughter in the cloakrooms?

Now it is home for Thanksgiving and there are more than a few Senators along with their constituents that have much to be thankful for.  We are on the way to landmark legislation that will change the way health care is delivered to the citizens of this country.  This is a very, very, very good thing.

We all owe our Senators and Congresspeople gratitude for the extraordinary effort they have put forth to get us where we are today.  Now on to the next round!  I will be doing all I can and I am sure all of you will too.

I received an email from Senators Durbin, Leahy and Schumer this morning.  Let me share with you what they had to say.  It pretty much says it all.

Dear Roberta, (Yes, this is my given name)

Moments ago, the Senate voted to begin its full debate on historic health care reform legislation instead of obstructing it with a filibuster.

Tonight‘s vote marks the biggest victory to date for our grassroots effort to pass health care reform with a public option. We cannot give enough thanks to the over 100,000 signers of our petition at CitizensForAPublicOption.com for helping to fundamentally shift the momentum towards meaningful reform.

Not long ago, a few loud opponents of reform armed and organized by the insurance industry dominated this debate. Now the American people, the majority of whom support a public option, have spoken out and gained the upper hand.

Not long ago, the public option seemed like little more than a pipe dream. Now it’s part of health care bills in both the Senate and the House.

Not long ago, members of our own Democratic caucus weren’t sure they could even support an up-or-down vote on health care reform legislation. Tonight they voted to end the Republican filibuster.

But despite this good news, the fight for meaningful health care reform is not over. As we debate amendments to this legislation in the coming weeks, we will work with our colleagues to ensure it continues to address the “Three C’s” of meaningful reform: competition, choice, and cost reduction. And we will firmly oppose any effort to eliminate the public option.

Tonight we celebrate a milestone no one thought we could reach just months ago. Tomorrow the fight continues. We will not let up until the President signs a bill we can all be proud of.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Senator Dick Durbin

Senator Chuck Schumer

Senator Patrick Leahy

Thank you to all of our Senators that worked so hard to bring health care reform to the floor for debate and a vote.