A deal between Obama and Stupak have sealed it.  The Democrats have enough votes to pass health care reform through the House.  The "deal" consists of an executive order to be signed by Obama saying that the government cannot spend money to fund abortions, which is already that law, but Stupak needed more assurance, so now he has it.

As I write this, the House is debating the health care reform bill, and the Republicans are a laugh riot.  It's "socialism", they keep saying.  Never mind the fact that the government isn't going to be actually running health care.  All that will happen is that the 30 million uninsured will now get insured (with government subsidies), you can't get denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and you can't be dropped from health insurance once you get sick.  That's not socialism, but if it is, then I'm a socialist.

To be sure, the bill is historic.  There has never been a piece of legislation this, well, BIG, since the Civil Rights Act of the early 1960s.  But it is something that is needed.  It's progress, which is why progressive like it, and conservatives hate it.

Republicans like to say that this bill is "being rammed down the throats" of Americans who (they claim) "overwhelmingly dislike the bill".  That's utter bullshit.  For months, the polls have been pretty much 50/50 over health care reform.  Interestingly, whenever the specifics of healthcare reform are explained to people (you know, without all the "death panel" bullshit), people overwhelmingly like the bill.

Anyway, historic vote within the next half hour.  Then another bill to fix the bill trhat just passed.  Then that second bill goes to Senate.

Then Obama signs them both.

And then we move on to something else.

UPDATE:  It passed.

Barack Obama's Facebook status reads:

For the first time in our nation’s history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.