The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, one of the most sweeping regulatory changes to the financial industry since the Great Depression, passed the House of Representatives today by a final vote of 223-202. On final passage, 27 Democrats voted no along with every Republican voting.

McCain is hardly losing “the approval of elites,” nor does he have any reason to fear that happening, if his near-omnipresence on TV’s political gabfests is any indication. Instead, he’s seeking what he’s consistently sought over the past couple of decades — attention.

The big story here is not that the White House wants to crush Byron Dorgan’s reimportation amendment and hold up their deal with Big PhRMa – that’s been clear for a while. The big news is that Dorgan’s fighting back. . .

The reason Reid dropped the annual limit from the Senate bill was to make his bill appear cheaper in the CBO score, and make insurance premiums appear lower.

The Department of Health & Human Services seems to have been quietly promoting the “annual limit” on benefits that Harry Reid dropped into the Senate bill.

For all those apologist who say we should absolutely pass a health care bill, even without a public option, because it still “has so many great consumer protections,” I have a rude awakening for you.

Please join me in calling on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to ask Hadassah Lieberman to step down by signing the petition.

If the Teabaggers/Palinites were truly deficit hawks, they would be denouncing the likes of Reagan and the Bushes and hailing Bill Clinton — who left the second Bush a record surplus. But Kibbe doesn’t mention Clinton. Wonder why?

Harry Reid, who is solely responsible for crafting the bill that he introduced in the Senate, decided that there should be a limit on lifetime benefits. So when people get sick and have huge bills for things like biologic drugs that cost $50,000 or $100,000 a year, whose bills could become “unreasonable” because Congress is granting drug manufacturers “indefinite monopolies” (per Henry Waxman) that prevent generics from coming to market to compete with them, Harry Reid thinks they should eventually be cut off.

Congress Daily is reporting that Reid is going to file “simultaneous cloture motions” on a package of bills, none of which he appears to have the votes for. Bart Stupak is saying they’re talking about throwing it in the omnibus bill, and beating members into passing it with “voting against the troops.”