UPDATE: The override fails, having fallen short of the 2/3 majority.

Dems picked up 8 votes, while Republicans pick up 11.

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UPDATE: Voting now taking place. I won’t be surprised if it passes. Democrats were only short by 15 votes. It’s not 2/3 of the House that matters – it’s 2/3 of those present.

Independent Caller to CSPAN: “If you like waiting in line at the post office, dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, you’ll love government-run health care”.

Democratic Caller from SanFran: Attacks Bush, Cheney, previous caller. Brings up spending billions on Iraq in order to rip off people’s oil. “Way to go America, go smoke a big fat joint”. Classy.

Caller from North Carolina: I support this bill, but did Mrs. Pelosi say illegal immigrants aren’t covered by this? Mrs. Pelosi needs to come down here to North Carolina to see the illegal aliens covered by it.

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UPDATE: Pelosi uses a quote by Orrin Hatch to prove it’s bipartisan. Interesting how she selectively uses him as a source to trust. Hatch’s position on global warming? It’s “science fiction”.

Pelosi: “Think about the children!”. The Dems have relied heavily on emotion here, not so much on practicality and reality.

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UPDATE: Pelosi up now. Says March of Dimes brought over 400 children to offices. Pelosi quotes that SCHIP is the life-line of low-income children.

Again, real low-income children would continue to receive SCHIP. Those within 200% of the poverty line receive it now. What’s opposed is the expansion to 400% – which would actually lead lower-income families to have to pay for higher-income families’ SCHIP through taxes.

Ed notes:

Nancy Pelosi argues that we should follow every other industrialized nation in providing government coverage for all children — once again revealing the real agenda behind this S-CHIP expansion.

Yes, and that is working out so wonderfully for Canadians coming here for medical procedures, France’s system on the verge of collapse, and many Brits now having to pull their own teeth.

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UPDATE: Surprise! They rule them not having been out of order. Diana DeGette (D-CO) is under the impression that 81% of Americans support this legislation. Gallup and Rasmussen beg to differ.

DeGette encourages an override for the veto of this “bipartisan” legislation. Boehner says they haven’t had the opportunity to actually sit down and work out differences. DeGette says adults aren’t protected by it. Beohner points out that there are many children not covered, yet many adults covered. 67% of those under Wisconsin SCHIP are apparently adults. Apparently 70% of Michigan’s SCHIP recipients are childless-adults.

Boehner: There was no sitting down between Republicans and Democrats on this. Feels it was sent to the White House knowing it wouldn’t be signed into law, but to have it vetoed.

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UPDATE: After at least the third personal offensive by Democrat Pete Stark, he was shut down by the Chair. The Chair now determining if Stark’s comments violated House rules. Not personally expecting it to go our way, but there’s hope nonetheless.

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UPDATE: Michelle updates:

Oh, my Lord. Pete Stark is back on the floor ranting about us using billions of dollars to “kill innocent Iraqis, Iraqi children…We look at our shoes…we don’t want to talk about sending children to kill.”

GOP Rep. Hulshof points out that Stark did not support the original CHIP bill.

Oy. Ed has Hulsof’s full quote:

“I don’t need to be lectured to by someone who didn’t even support the original program.”

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Michelle and Ed Morrissey are live-blogging. To sum it up, Democrats claim the President hates children, the Republicans rebut saying he doesn’t and repeating their argument.

Democratic Rep. Peter Stark apparently went loony on the floor claiming Bush is sending kids into an “illegal war” in order to “blow people up” and “get their heads blown up” simply for “his amusement”. Yeah, ok… A fellow Democrat reminds him to not address the President in a personal manner.

And both Michelle and Ed note that the poster family Rahm Emanuel just trotted out is already covered by SCHIP and will continue to be regardless of the President’s veto.

More soon…

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