Vote here for the winner of the POP art contest. Voting ends tonight at midnight.

According to the Huffington Post, "Key to winning Democratic support was a letter posted early Thursday from labor leaders and progressive economists" which was "organized by the liberal blog Firedoglake...Grayson was able to show Democratic colleagues that the liberal base was behind them." During the committee debate, Grayson quoted from the letter.

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I think it’s so sad that even as Arkansas has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country (17%), Blanche Lincoln is refusing to say whether she’ll even allow debate on desperately needed health care legislation. Instead, she’s focused on leveraging her vote for personal political advantage. She wants to be “wooed.” Good for Lieutenant Governor Halter for putting the needs of Arkansas ahead of political self-interest.

RYAN GRIM: Just this morning the blog Firedoglake organized a letter that's signed by the AFL-CIO, the SEIU and other economists saying we need to back the Paul/Grayson amednement and a vote for the Watt amendment is a vote for more secresy at the Fed, more secreat bailouts. But you also have unanimous Republican support for this in the committee, so you have this left/right convergence, kind of a grass roots movement, that is trying to challenge the establishment.

I guess you were the only one who didn't know:

[M]any in the abortion rights community — which has been divided by tactical disagreements over the years — also recognize they were outmaneuvered by adversaries who understood the basic anti-abortion arithmetic of abortion votes in the House. “I think Pelosi, NARAL and Planned Parenthood knew the reality — but a lot of other people had unrealistic expectations with Nancy Pelosi running the House and Barack Obama in the White House,” says a longtime abortion rights lobbyist.

We received amazing entries for the POP art contest. There are six finalists for the "Public Choice" prize, and voting is now open.

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Are Dick Durbin and Harry Reid really so slimy that they think it's okay to get people ginned up about something they're getting ready to ditch? They think one of those patented "for the greater good" speeches will help them skate over the giant chasm between what they're saying and what they're actually doing?

Maybe granting drug companies an “indefinite monopoly” (in the words of Henry Waxman) isn't the greatest idea? Even if you think someone will wave a magic wand and make biologic drugs available to you, the $50,000 to $300,000 annual pricetag is going to put it out of the reach of countries already struggling to provide health care. Ask Sherrod Brown to save us from PhRMA and the Eshoo/Hagan/ lobbyist-written biologics legislation HERE.