As if Democrats didn’t have enough to worry about. Overnight and into tomorrow, Washington, D.C. is preparing for a major snow storm, complete with thunder and high winds. A winter snowpocalypse.

On any other weekend, that would be no biggy for Senate Democrats, but tomorrow, they need all hands on deck if they hope to keep on track to pass their health care bill by Christmas. And remember, they can’t afford a single slip-up.

So here’s another wrinkle: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has skipped town.

Already, they’ve wheeled in the cots for members and staff who choose to slumber party the night away in the Capitol, or Senate offices. But tomorrow, bright and early, all of them could need to be on hand for procedural reasons. For instance, Democrats expect to have to waive a budget point of order they expect Republicans to raise against the defense appropriations bill. That requires 60 votes.

Potentially complicating matters, though is that Lieberman, who’s caused Democratic leadership no shortage of political heartburn on health care, isn’t even in town!

“After being assured by Democratic and Republican leaders that his vote was not needed to pass the Defense Appropriations bill, Senator Lieberman went to Connecticut to spend the Sabbath and the last night of Hanukkah with his wife, Hadassah, and their children and grandchildren,” reads a statement to TPMDC from Lieberman’s spokesman Marshall Wittmann.

That means Democrats will be relying on at least one Republican to help them get the defense bill over a procedural bump in order to push them back on to health care. They’re crossing their fingers.

But assuming they can get one vote, what happens if the snow keeps other members away? It could be a big problem. Leadership seemed confident earlier today that everybody would be present and accounted for tomorrow, and a bit surprised to learn that Lieberman had flown the coop. With all these added complications, don’t be surprised to hear a new Republican talking point: Even Mother Nature hates health care reform.

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You can find Reid’s manager’s amendment here, or just turn on C-Span2 to listen to the entire amendment being read aloud.  Mitch McConnell requested the read and it is expected to go until 8pm est. tonight.

This bill’s democratic price tag has gone from $848B to $871B, and Sen. Ben Nelson is now on board the train via the Mary Landrieu style of passage (more money).

From Politico:

Nelson wins insurance tax exemption, too

In addition to the Medicaid carve out, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) negotiated an exemption from the insurance tax for non-profit insurers based in his state.

The language was written in a way that only Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, as well as Blue Cross Blue Shield nonprofit plans in Nebraska and Michigan, would qualify, according to a Democratic Senate aide.

POLITICO reported Friday that Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) had sought a similar exemption from the $6 billion annual fee, and was drawing opposition from progressives, who have tried to paint the bill as a giveaway to big insurers. Non-profit insurers in Levin’s state control 76 percent of industry profits — one of the highest percentages in the country.

Harkin: Nelson did us a favor

Sen. Ben Nelson may have gotten a special deal — an agreement for the federal government to pick up the state’s Medicaid tab — but Sen. Tom Harkin suggests the Nebraska Democrat did the other 99 senators a favor.

The federal government is paying for the entire Medicaid expansion through 2017 for every state.

Starting Monday, you need to get your butt off your couch and head down to your Senators’ field offices if there is any way you possibly can.  Get as many people as possible to go with you.

Go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

SCREAM at the staff there that you are organizing as many people as you know to defeat every single person voting to enact socialism in this country by passing the Utopiacare bill.

SCREAM.

We have been told by people who’ve worked for Senators that so few people show up at field offices that every one of them is treated like 10,000 people’s opinions.  Some field offices go WEEKS without a single person showing up and crossing the threshold.

These people work for YOU.  They have a legal obligation to take a meeting with you.  Someone on that staff HAS to talk to you, because you pay their salaries.  Bring your kids, bring your parents, bring your neighbors, bring everyone you can.

Scare the living Hell out of these people.

It doesn’t matter if your Senator is a Republican or Democrat, scare all of them.  They all talk to one another.  They need to know how angry the public is about this.

Go to your Congressional reps’ offices too.  They will make sure the message gets to Washington as well.  Scream at all of these people.

It has come to this:  that we are encouraging people to go out in public and scream and yell.  But that’s what needs to be done.

It is our great hope that those of you who read us and read other sites too will encourage all other places you read to encourage their readers to do the same thing.

Melting the phone lines is not enough.  You need to go in person to your elected officials’ offices, demand to be heard, and scream in their faces that you will not sit idly by while socialists take over this country.  You need to tell them you are mad as hell and are not going to take it anymore.

For all those of you who didn’t want to vote for John McCain because he was not conservative enough and sat out the 2008 election letting Dr. Utopia win — this is your fault, this is what we warned everyone would happen if he won, and so Republicans who didn’t vote for McCain, in particular, need to really raise their voices and get off their butts now.

We will be harassing the offices of the entire Illinois Congressional delegation next week…Monday through Thursday.  We are bringing as many people as we can.

You need to do your part too.

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UPDATE: To be 100% clear, every single member of the House and Senate needs to be screamed at next week.  EVERY one of them.  Republican and Democrat. They need to see firsthand how angry the American people are. Even the ones who are voting NO need to be screamed at too, so that they get a little extra fire in them too.  They need to know the people are behind them in voting NO.  People need to scream their heads off all next week.  Make it cathartic.  We will be screaming at Senators Durkin and Burris, and will take great joy in screaming at Jan Schakowsky, our Congressional rep…the worst member of Congress after Pelosi herself.  We will scream ourselves hoarse, and go to these offices Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

And then, if this bill really does pass, everyone who votes for it needs to be defeated in their next election.

This will mean, for us, working against people we have long supported.  That’s going to be tough.  But, here’s what it boils down to for us:

This vote is a Before/After moment in our history.  When the vote is made, all the things we thought about people before the vote will be muted by what we think of them post-vote.  This bill has not been read by anyone.  It’s purpose is to takeover 1/6 of the economy.  It is being rammed through at lightspeed without proper consideration or debate. This is reckless legislation and anyone not standing in its way is in gross dereliction of duty.  Anyone voting for a bill this large, this expensive, and this nation-changing without fully understanding every word written in it should not be in Congress because they are incompetent.

And we hope all 60 Democrats eventually lose their seats if they vote YES on this, as expected.

We will work to defeat all of them, even those we consider friends.

If Hillary Clinton was in the Senate today, and she voted Yes on this, we would work to defeat her too.

Read that again a few times so we are clear — this is such a travesty, that we would WORK AGAINST Hillary Clinton and defeat her re-election if she voted for this monstrosity.

To us, more than anything, this is a test of competence:

* the bill is not even written and they are voting on it, which should be unconstitutional

* no one has read the bill, and they are voting on it, which should be illegal

* no one understands what’s in the bill or how much it will cost but they are voting on it anyway, which should be grounds for their removal under the umbrella of incompetence to the point of being unable to discharge their elected duties

If you vote for this bill, you are a buffoon who does not belong in Congress because you cannot meet the minimum job requirements for your office.

It is that simple.

Whatever we thought of you before, after you do this, you prove to us you should not be a Senator.