No More "So You Think You Can Read Bernie Sanders' 767-Page Amendment" Show

Tom Coburn's on-demand live reading of Bernie Sanders' 767-page Medicare amendment was canceled last night, so now we'll never know how it ends. Apparently someone decided he didn't want to sit through the whole program…

Sanders's decision to withdraw the amendment will stop the reading and allow debate to continue.

The amendment would have extended Medicare coverage to all who wanted it. The program currently serves people ages 65 and up.

Senate aides estimated that the bill-reading would have taken eight to 10 hours, which would have sidelined the healthcare debate as Democratic leaders attempt to pass the overhaul by Christmas.

For those keeping score at home, the Senate health care proposal has now had its Medicare expansion and its public option forcibly removed, thanks to Tom Coburn and Joe Lieberman. Bernie Sanders is so frustrated about this that he might not vote for the bill at all, because what the hell is left at this point?

I don't know, though, I think he's making a mistake. Someday Bernie Sanders will have to tell his grandchildren that he didn't vote for the most critical photograph of two aspirin that this country has ever seen.

Tags: Bernie Sanders, Health Care, Medicare, Senate, Tom Coburn