Politico: The fallout: Democrats rethinking health care bill

Democratic leaders and the White House insisted ahead of the vote they aren’t preparing to desert health care. They admit they’ll have to come up with a new strategy to win passage, but said they didn’t want to allow one Senate race to take them off-course on the president’s top legislative item for the year.

But several House members said Tuesday night that they had no interest in pursuing the most likely scenario for moving ahead with a bill — approving the already-passed Senate version of health reform in the House – and some said President Barack Obama should step back and start over. more…..

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Washington Post: With Brown victory, Webb calls for suspending health care votes

As Democrats reel from the loss of a U.S. Senate seat in deep blue Massachusetts, Virginia Sen. Jim Webb becomes the first senator we’ve seen tonight to call for suspending all votes on health care until newly elected Republican Scott Brown can take office.

Some Democrats had been mulling trying to complete health care legislation before Brown can be seated, to maintain their 60 seat super majority in the senate. But if Webb–or others–oppose the move, the 60-vote margin would be gone and the maneuverimpossible. more…..

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Wall Street Journal: Brown Wins Massachusetts Senate Seat, Potentially Upending Obama Agenda

BOSTON — A little-known Republican upended the balance of power in Washington by winning a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts, a result that imperils President Barack Obama’s top legislative priorities and augurs trouble for his party in this year’s elections…The Brown victory forces the White House and Congressional leaders into a mad scramble to decide how—or whether—to salvage their long-sought health-care overhaul. Rushing the bill after losing Massachusetts carries political risks. So does allowing it to collapse. more…..

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Red State: A Shot Across the Bow from the Bay State

Let’s cut right to the chase: Scott Brown’s resounding defeat of Martha Coakley demonstrates many things. Chief among these is the vulnerability of everyany vital race (Corzine, Deeds, Coakley….), and the true unpopularity of the health care monstrosity the Democratic supermajority has been fighting amongst itself to produce over the course of this last year. more….. Democrat in the current election year, the impotence of the Democrats’ current leader and sitting President to sway public opinion in

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Boston Globe: Election dramatically alters trajectory of Obama’s agenda

Congressional strategists had warned in the closing days of the Massachusetts Senate race that a Coakley defeat had the potential to trigger a series of retirements within the Democratic ranks as members flee a political wave that could wash out dozens in the House and high single digits on the Senate side.

“My message to my clients? Jump ship now,” said one Democratic operative who advises a number of targeted Members of Congress. “Obama can’t help you.” more…..

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-Cnation