Today, Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson (D), whom is credited for casting the 60^th vote to secure the democrats partisan health care bill, indicated that he may be stripping his deal from the bill.  Nelson made headlines when he took Harry Reid’s “bribe” and voted for the Health Care bill in exchange for securing 100% funding for Medicaid, mandating that the remaining 49 states would have to foot the bill.

Nelson, who claimed that Nebraska Republican Governor Dave Heineman put him up to it, stated that three other senators want the same deal.  Nelson stated the unidentified three senators said “Now we understand what you did.  We’ll be seeking this funding too.”

Governor Heineman claims that Sen. Nelson’s statements that he pushed for the deal are incorrect.

“Under no circumstances did I have anything to do with Senator Nelson’s compromise,” the governor said in a written statement. “The responsibility for this special deal lies solely on the shoulders of Senator Ben Nelson.” 

Whether the removing of Senator Nelson’s deal, or the outcome of the three senators vying for the same deal, changes the outcome for the final vote on Christmas Eve remains to be seen.

Other indications that this poses a potential problem for securing 60 votes come from a recent announcement from President Obama.

After news broke of Nelson’s comments, the president stated that he would delay his Christmas vacation until after the Senate vote has commenced.  The president said that since his friends were working hard on the Health Care bill, he felt that he needed to be there to solve any last minute problems.

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