Democrat Senator Max Baucus Denies He Was Drunk On Senate Floor

BillingsGazette.com:

Sen. Max Baucus' office Monday denounced a widely viewed Internet video that suggested Baucus was drunk on the Senate floor last week, calling it an "untrue, personal smear" designed to attack Democrats’ health-care reform legislation.

"This is beyond the pale, and this type of gutter politics has no place in the public sphere," said Baucus spokesman Ty Matsdorf.

The video, posted over the weekend on the popular Internet video Web site YouTube, is a five-minute clip of Baucus speaking last Tuesday during floor debate on the health-reform bill that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve.

Baucus, a key figure in Democrats’ crafting of the health-reform bill, is angrily answering Republican criticism that Democrats fashioned a partisan bill and locked Republicans out of any meaningful talks on the bill.

The video on YouTube is headlined "Senator Max Baucus drunk/intoxicated on Senate floor — shouts down Wicker," and was the top item Monday on the Drudge Report, a prominent right-leaning news Web site.

The video speaks for itself. Max Baucus was either drunk or is dealing with some type of medical condition. No attempt to "smear" here.

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Senate Panel Passes Baucus Bill, Olympia Snowe Joins In

YahooNews.com:

With support from a lone Republican, a key Senate committee Tuesday approved a middle-of-the-road health care plan that moves President Barack Obama's goal of wider and affordable coverage a giant step closer to becoming law.

Maine Republican Olympia Snowe said she was laying aside misgivings for now and voting to advance the bill, a sweeping $829-billon, 10-year health care remake that would help most Americans get coverage without creating a new government insurance plan. "When history calls, history calls," said Snowe.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., called his bill "a commonsense, balanced solution." A distance runner, Baucus has endured months of marathon meetings to get this far. It's not the finish line.

Health care legislation is expected to be on the Senate floor the week after next, said a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. But it won't be the Baucus bill. Reid will combine the Finance version with a more liberal proposal from the health committee — with unpredictable results.

Olympia Snowe has once again made it clear that she plays by her own rules. Snowe has no fear of the Far-Right, much less their attempts to bully her. BaucusCare has been roundly dissed by the Left, more reason for Snowe to join in, but then I doubt BaucusCare will have enough votes to make it to Barry's desk anyway. Such is the life of partisan politics.