History in sight for Democrats  —  A cadre of anti-abortion Democrats announced Sunday that they've reached an agreement with the White House to defuse the controversy over abortion in the health care bill and will now vote yes — effectively putting the Democrats over the 216-vote threshold to pass health reform by day's end.

Happy Dependence Day!  — By: Mark Steyn  —  Well, it seems to be in the bag now.  I try to be a sunny the-glass-is-one-sixteenth-full kinda guy, but it's hard to overestimate the magnitude of what the Democrats have accomplished.  Whatever is in the bill is an intermediate stage …

Waterloo  —  Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.  —  It's hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster.  Conservatives may cheer themselves that they'll compensate for today's expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections.

The Future After Health Care  —  Regardless of what you think about health care, tomorrow we wake up in a different political world.  —  Parties have passed legislation before that wasn't broadly publicly supported.  But the only substantial instances I can think of in America are budget bills and TARP …

BREAKING: An Ugly Scene  —  You may have heard or read about the ugly scenes on Capitol Hill yesterday, when a few conservative activists shouted racial and homophobic epithets at Democratic lawmakers.  Today the conservative activists are back.  And so is the ugliness—only this time, a few Republicans were actually encouraging them.

Why This Moment Matters  —  We'll talk some other time about the political consequences, in 2010 and 2012 and beyond, of the health-care reform vote.  (My guess: this will not seem anywhere near as poisonous seven months from now as it does today.  Jobs jobs jobs is what will matter most then.

Boehner to GOP lawmakers: ‘Behave like grown-ups’  —  House Minority Leader John Boehner told his conference to “behave like grown-ups” if the healthcare bill is passed by the House on Sunday.  —  The Ohio Republican made the warning at a quick closed-door meeting with fellow House GOP lawmakers at noon in the Capitol.

The AIPAC Crowd  —  AIPAC's annual conference got under way today in Washington D.C. The crowd was, in contrast to past years, more on edge, more distressed, and, frankly, more anti-administration.  The conference comes after an eye-opening (for some) clash between the Obami and the Israeli government.

What time is the health-care vote?  And other critical questions.  —  The final showdown has arrived, the House opened up for legislative business right at 1 p.m., and everybody's got two questions they want answered: Do Democrats have the votes — and when will the vote be?

Legal and Political Fights Are Looming for Democrats  —  WASHINGTON — The battle over health care is poised to move swiftly from Congress back to the country as Democrats, Republicans and a battery of interest groups race to define the legislation and dig in for long-term political and legal fights.