This afternoon, in uncharacteristically impassioned and frank speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) challenged “courageous” Republicans to “break from their leadership” and “work together to pass health care reform.” Baucus argued that the Republican party was more interested in winning seats during the 2010 election than offering sensible alternatives to the health care crisis and accused the Republican leadership of pressuring members of ‘Gang of Six’ to abandon bipartisan negotiations.

Sens. Snowe, Enzi and Grassley “wanted to pass health care reform,” Baucus insisted. “They asked very good questions,” but “one by one by one they started to drift away. They wanted to pass health care reform, they wanted to act in a bipartisan basis but they were pressured, pressured from their political party not to do it.”

At one point, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) explained the unanimous Republicans opposition by suggesting that members of the Gang of Six wanted to support a compromise but “it dawned on them that my friends on the other side of the aisle wanted to Europeanize the health care system of the United States of America.” Baucus responded angrily. “I want to tell this Senator that is not what happened,” he shouted, waiving his index finger at Wicker:

I want to tell the Senator that that is not what happened. I was in the room constantly, constantly. I talked to those Senators many many times. That is not what happened. I”ll tell you what did happen. Your leadership pressured them, pressured them, pressured them not to work together. There is no European style effort in that room, that is a totally untruthful statement. Totally untruthful statement. None whatsoever….That assertion of working towards a European solution is entirely untrue. It’s entirely false.

Watch it:

“I just want the public to know that we worked very hard to get a bipartisan bill that side of the aisle started working with us but gradually they began to bleed politically,” Baucus said. They realized “that they would do a better chance in the 2010 elections by just not working with us, but just attack attack attack attack attack and try to score political points to defeat any honest effort to get health care reform.”

This morning, the Senate cleared series of procedural votes on the health care bill, clearing the way to passing reform on Christmas Eve. All 60 members of the Democratic caucus voted in favor of the three motions, suggesting that Republicans are waging a losing battle to delay the passage of reform.

In fact, given the inevitability of passage, a divide appears to be forming between Republicans who want to head home for the holidays, and those who wish to drag out the debate. Following today’s vote, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested that he is ready to leave. McConnell announced that he is “working on an agreement that would give certainty to the way to end this session.” “Hopefully the two of us together can be recommending something that makes sense for both sides in the not too distant future,” he said. Watch it:

Since reaching 60 votes, Democrats have argued that the chamber waive the 30-hours of debate between each cloture vote, offering unanimous consent agreements to expedite the Senate schedule. But at least some Republicans are intent on running out the clock and staying until Christmas. “The flight I have is Christmas morning,” Sen. Robert Corker (R-TN) told reporters, “I don’t plan on changing that.” This morning on Washington Journal, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) also said, “I’m committed to stay here all the way through the final vote.”

Republicans will attend a 1pm caucus lunch today where they’ll decide whether or not to delay the vote until Christmas eve.