Kuehl

The legislature is in a flurry of activity, facing a deadline to get bills out of the Assembly and Senate. Three health care bills are moving along. Yesterday, SB840 (single payer) passed the senate again, on its way to almost certain passage in the Assembly. Today, the Senate passed SB 48, Perata's health care plan. All of the Republicans voted against it and they were joined by Sen. Lou Correa, who was also the lone vote against SB 840. The Assembly is scheduled to take up Speaker Nunez's AB8. Of course, there is no legislative vehicle for Arnold's health care plan, so it can't exactly be moved.

Hanh Kim Quach was watching the Senate debate and wanted to "spit nails" listening to Republican Sen. George Runner blow up an inflatable boogy man about rationing care.

"It opens the door to us deciding who's worth of health care and who isn't,'' Runner said.

Thankfully, Sen. Sheila Kuehl weighed in.

"We have rationing now. Rationing is not going to be imposed in a new plan. It's Darwinian. You have money. You can buy insurance. You have health care. You don't have money. You don't have insurance. You don't have health care.''

Right on Sen. Kuehl.

[UPDATE]: This is hysterical. The Republicans are whining that their health care bills are not being heard. That is because the majority of them did not have a hearing. Why?

That's because the Republicans either didn't ask, or cancelled the bills themselves. Specifically, Roger Niello, Van Tran, Bob Huff and Alan Nakanishi -- who all complained that their bills weren't heard -- actively cancelled scheduled hearings. Van Tran cancelled his hearing twice.

As my colleague Beth Capell said, you can't complain that the girl won't go with you to the dance, if you don't pick up the phone and ask her.

And you certainly can't complain that she stood you up if you cancelled the date!!