U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska are two of three members of the Senate Democratic Caucus who have yet to say whether they will act to prevent a planned Republican filibuster of the Senate’s health care reform bill. (The third is Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.)

(Update: Nelson, citing a personal history of rejecting “efforts to obstruct,” has said he will vote to allow the bill to move forward.)

“[Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid has scheduled a critical vote this Saturday night that will allow the Senate to take-up his bill,” the RNC wrote today in an e-mail that urges supporters to contact Lincoln’s and Nelson’s offices.

“This is the best opportunity there will be to stop President [Barack] Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi from imposing their government-run health care plan on America.”

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin predicted that the planned filibuster would fail because “no Democrat wants to be the one that stopped” health care reform.

Democrats, who currently control the Senate, will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. That means, in addition to holding their caucus of 58 votes together, the Democrats will need the support of independent Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

Peter Yarrow (Photo: Peterpaulandmary.com)

The song, “Barack the Magic Negro,” is a parody of the Peter, Paul and Mary tune “Puff the Magic Dragon” that was produced by Paul Shanklin, an associate of talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

“This is not only offensive, it is shocking and saddening in the extreme,” Yarrow said in an email interview with the Iowa Independent Saturday. “It flies in the face of America’s deeply held hope for a new era in which common ground and mutal respect characterize the exchanges between our national leaders.”

Yarrow said that he and co-writer of the song Lenny Lipton “have been eagerly awaiting an end to the mean-spiritedness, outright disrespect and bigotry that was commonplace prior to this last presidential election.”

“What might have been wearily accepted as ‘the way it was’ in the campaign is now unacceptable,” Yarrow said. “[Barack] Obama is not a candidate. He is the President-elect, and this song insults the office of the Presidency, the people who voted for him, as well as those who did not — and taking a children’s song and twisting it in such a vulgar, mean-spirited way, is a slur to our entire country and our common agreement to move beyond racism.”

Yarrow said it was “unimaginable” that Saltsman, who was the highest paid Republican campaign manager during the 2008 primary when he served for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, “would seriously be considered” for the RNC top post.

“Puff himself, if asked, would certainly agree,” Yarrow said.

The album is sold as comedy and Saltsman has defended sending it as a Christmas gift. ”I think most people recognize political satire when they see it,” he told CNN.  On his own blog, Saltsman said that the media was using a double standard in their criticism of him.

The song has been a programming mainstay for Limbaugh since late 2007. He too, has defended playing the parody, noting that Obama was first characterized as a “Magic Negro” by a liberal writer in March 2007 who likened Obama’s appeal to whites to the appeal of Hollywood actors like Sidney Poitier and Morgan Freeman.

In addition to serving as Huckabee’s campaign manager, Saltsman was the head of the Tennessee Republican Party and worked with former Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee. Huckabee has made telephone calls in support of Saltsman for the RNC position.

Sarah Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor’s chief spokeswoman and daughter, told Marc Ambinder that her father is supporting Saltsman because he believes his former campaign manager “shares his vision on how to move the party forward.”

It was nine words in a two paragraph press release announcing that the 17-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was pregnant, but it should tell American women all they need to know. Implicit in Monday’s statement from Sarah and Todd Palin was that their young daughter had a choice — the same choice Palin has said she’d deny women including her own offspring.

During a 2006 gubernatorial debate Palin said that she would deny her then 14-year-old daughter choice, even if the girl was raped.

The candidates were pressed on their stances on abortion and were even asked what they would do if their own daughters were raped and became pregnant

Palin said she would support abortion only if the mother’s life was in danger. When it came to her daughter, she said, “I would choose life.”

While there is little doubt that being the child of such a staunch anti-choice politician, who recently joined the presidential campaign of another anti-choice politician, left Bristol with limited choices, it still remains that the campaign wanted Americans to believe two things:

1. That this was not a forced or coerced pregnancy.
2. That the “right” choice was made.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, when confronted in 2000 with a hypothetical of his daughter being pregnant, said that “the final decision would be made by [our daughter] with [mine and Cindy's] advice and counsel.” When pressed about this viewpoint actually making him look like he was in favor of women having a choice, he shot back that he didn’t “think it is the pro-choice position to say that my daughter and my wife and I will discuss something that is a family matter that we have to decide.”

McCain and Palin (based on Monday’s press release and not her earlier statements) believe their families should have the luxury of choice, but that the remainder of American women are not to be trusted. While some may argue that McCain doesn’t really know what he believes when it comes to matters of reproductive health, it is clear that Palin believes women should be forced to carry pregnancies to term even in cases of rape and incest. Ironically enough, her view that an exception should be made in cases where the mother’s life is at risk, could be termed almost moderate when contrasted with the Republican Party Platform adopted yesterday in Minneapolis. According to those voting on the document Monday, officials representing the GOP should not allow any exceptions, even if that means women die.

Scott Horsley, who is traveling with McCain for National Public Radio, reports that McCain, flanked by Haley Barbour and Sarah Palin, said that the event would no longer be a celebratory event, but a call to action.

“We must redirect our efforts from the really celebratory event of the nomination of president and vice president of our party to acting as all Americans. We’ll change our program and I’ll be announcing details of it in the next few hours. But there’s very little doubt that we have to go from a party event to a call to the nation for action, action to help our fellow citizens in this time of tragedy and disaster, action in the form of volunteering, donations, reaching out our hands and our hearts and our wallets to the people who are under such great threat from this great natural disaster. I pledge that tomorrow night, and if necessary, throughout our convention if necessary, to act as Americans not Republians, because America needs us now no matter whether we are Republican or Democrat.”

In a move Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post describes as a “sigh of relief” for Republican strategists, Pres. George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have decided that they will not appear at the convention on opening night. While Bush may reschedule his appearance for later in the week, Cheney leaves on a trip overseas Tuesday and is not expected to return before the end of the convention.