Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, says he is not sure he is ready to help a Democratic healthcare proposal gain the 60 votes his party's leaders need to open debate on the measure later this week. Two of his fellow Democrats, Senators Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, are on the fence as well, raising the prospect that one or perhaps all three of them could scuttle the bill before the fight over it even begins on the Senate floor, reports the New York Times. Inability by the Democrats to advance the plan could require them to redraw the measure or switch to a more contentious procedural shortcut around the need for a 60-vote majority.
