"To stay on subject: The same exact process took place when Medicare Part D (Prescription Drug Plan) was pushed thru with the Republican-controlled congress during the Bush Administration... Thems how things works when either party is in control."
The MMA was debated and negotiated in Congress by both parties for almost 6 years before it was passed in 2003. It was bipartisan, and it committed way too much taxpayer money to fund it.

"This time around, though... the Republicans are in the wilderness... other than the few ideas they have come up with regarding healtcare, they've done very little to even slow down the Dems... while falling for the oldest trick in the book that dates back to the Roman Senate... They are so deeply entwined in a web right now that they have no idea as to what's going on. They took the bait..."

You either don't see, or are unwilling to acknowledge what is really happening. Obama promised a bipartisan administration. He lied. Bipartisanship involves inviting the opposing party to the table for their input. Those are people who were also elected to office. That isn't happening. Pelosi and Reid have shut out the elected representatives of almost half of this country from the decision making process. They wouldn't be doing this without orders from the top, or at the very least, implied consent. This administration is removing this country from the Democratic Republic it has been since its founding into something that resembles a dictatorship. Reid and Pelosi last week were prime examples of power infused elitists. Reid said a healthcare reform bill had to include the public option (gov't supplied and run health insurance), period. Pelosi went on record that she and her comrades didn't care if the opinion polls show a majority of the American people think this is a bad idea. Her words were another way of saying "the American people are too stupid to know what's good for them. We'll make those decisions for them." It was she who compared those participating in tea party rallies to Nazis. Middle class Democrat, Republican and independent Americans upset with the way things are attempted to be shoved down their collective throats are now Nazis according the Senator.

"...and, at present, the Republicans are back to where they were when Palin was dragging McCain thru the mud... and instead of utilizing FOX as they should have; by presenting something what they thought might have been some good ideas to incorporate into a decent bill that both sides could have mutually agreed upon... they took the back-woods approach, instead, by crying that nobody is listening to them. Where was FOX; asleep... or are they burning the candle on both ends for ratings?"

I've seen you mock Fox as a news source. I've seen you mock Fox as a source of truth. I saw the Obama administration recently try to exclude Fox from the Whitehouse press pool from a press conference with the Pay Czar. Now you are suggesting that Republicans failed to get their message out on Fox? What the hell happened to NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, CNBC and MSNBC and their responsibility to present all of the news to their viewers? Not just news that fits their agenda, but all of it. Network journalism in America is truly in the toilet.

"BTW, the Socialism gig went out the window six months ago... your Glenn Beck guy needs to try something else... Ain't nobody fallin' for no namecallin' round here..."

FWIW, I don't have cable or satellite TV, haven't for two years. The national TV news that feeds into my living room daily is NBC, CBS and ABC. I've seen Glenn Beck a few times while on the road in hotels, but after a long work day, I'd rather watch Family Guy or the Simpsons. I don't need a talking head on any channel to tell me what the Obama administration agenda is. My own two eyes can see that it is Marxist. That's not name calling. It is a statement of fact.