The news keeps getting tougher for the House Leadership in their irrational quest to pass their ObamaCare bill.
First, the Associated Press is reporting the bill will cost $1.2 Trillion without the doctor fix of $250 billion.
The new total will be $1.45 trillion — because the House Leadership intends to create a “self-executing rule” that would pull the doctor fix apart from the House ObamaCare bill — in order to keep the cost at $1.2 Trillion, then fuse the doc fix back into the ObamaCare bill after it passes the House.
It is like a magic trick, presto — $250 billion in new spending just appears in the bill after it passes.
Meanwhile, the new $1.45 billion ought to send the Blue Dogs scampering from the bill.
Then, of course, the House is finally grappling with two thermonuclear issues: abortion and immigration.
But, as numerous news reports state, the Democratic Leaders still do not have the votes for the bill — rumors abound, the most credible put the House vote count at less than 200 for the bill.
The more fundamental question is, why is the U.S. House voting before the U.S. Senate? House leadership has already moved the vote from Thursday to Friday, and are now talking about the vote being moved to Saturday or Monday of Tuesday of next week. House leaders should just punt the vote until after the Senate, and save their members — and themselves — the pain of voting.
Especially when the Senate is now talking post-Thanksgiving for its floor vote?
Why is the Speaker forcing its members to walk the plank again, prior to the Senate vote, especially when it is likely that the bill will never get off the Senate floor?
The politics of this health bill are irrational, and they keep getting more and more irrational.
Try defending a $1.45 Trillion bill to independent voters already concerned about our $1.4 trillion deficit, federal funding for abortion, prohibitions on illegal immigrants getting health benefits that are not enforceable, health record databases that contain information about gun ownership, premiums that increase, your own health plan changing to fit the government run health information exchange parameters, government control and mandates over your life expanding to include payment of fines and taxes, forcing you to buy a health plan or face the IRS and a huge new entitlement program, while the bill breaks promises made the deficit, abortion, illegal immigrants, taxes and being able to keep your health plan.
Congress has a total political failure on its hands, but its leadership keeps insisting they must pass it.
They will reap the consequences of their stubborn refusal to listen to the American people, who overwhelmingly oppose the plan. According to this poll released today, 59% of likely voters say the country is on the wrong track and 51% oppose the ObamaCare plan.
Voting early vs waiting
bk Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:16PM EST (link)I’ve wondered about that too. What do you think are the various scenarios and tradeoffs? The most obvious ones to me are:
- She could wait for the Senate to pass a slightly less horrible version and then pass it as is, pulling an end around against any Senate post-conference hold-ups, BUT…
- If she waits and the Senate causes it to fall after the next big break, wobbly Democrats will be besieged by constituents and more likely to vote no on any bill.
- She can try to force moderates to vote yes now because the longer it gets dragged out (i.e. the closer to next year’s elections) the more likely it is that they can’t stomach it, BUT
- If she knew she had the votes now she wouldn’t delay a second longer than needed, so it’s pretty clear she doesn’t have the votes yet.
It’s an interesting dynamic to watch. Her sizable ego is no doubt part of the equation too. She probably sees Reid and the Senate as a bunch of doddering old fuddyduddies, and she wants to take the lead here.
I think they are being
Dan Perrin Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:40PM EST (link)irrational and prideful
A theory...
writeblock Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:59PM EST (link)I’m starting to think the dems want to ditch the bill. It’s an albatross. Reid’s got Lieberman and Nelson to worry about; Pelosi’s got the blue dogs and the pro-lifers to worry about. Both Reid and Pelosi are astute politicians. They know the bill is a disaster for them politically. They need a year to put it all behind them to prepare for 2010. The sooner they ditch the damn thing the better. At the same time they’ve got to appease the left. Hence the Kabuki dance.
That is a fair question - what benefit in voting NOW?
Joe Rivers Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:29PM EST (link)Granted that Nancy is not operating with a full load of intellectual bricks, this still has the smell of having some calculated purpose.
On the surface it would make sense to either (a) vote before today’s elections, since the Deeds loss, Owens loss, and Corzine either loss or extremely narrow escape will do nothing to encourage compliance by the blue dogs, or (b) wait till after the Senate votes, since everybody that votes FOR in the House is politically exposed to the the ire of voters. If it fails in the Senate, it does not make sense in the House to have made that commitment.
I don’t get it. The answer MAY just be as simple as ‘they’re just stupid’. But I don’t want to believe it’s that simple. They’re working some angle somewhere.
Maquisard
It is as if the Leadership wants to
Dan Perrin Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:40PM EST (link)cause their moderates pain and suffering and electoral loss
And the irony of that is...
bk Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:45PM EST (link)We have all the Dems saying because of NY-23 that the GOP has a “no moderates allowed” policy, while Pelosi is out there telling her moderates that they’d better vote the way she tells them.
Inevitable
Thomas_Hauber Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:49PM EST (link)Nancy, bought into the “inevitable” argument. Unfortunately this is definitely not inevitable.
That is a fair question - what benefit in voting NOW?
Joe Rivers Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:29PM EST (link)Granted that Nancy is not operating with a full load of intellectual bricks, this still has the smell of having some calculated purpose.
On the surface it would make sense to either (a) vote before today’s elections, since the Deeds loss, Owens loss, and Corzine either loss or extremely narrow escape will do nothing to encourage compliance by the blue dogs, or (b) wait till after the Senate votes, since everybody that votes FOR in the House is politically exposed to the the ire of voters. If it fails in the Senate, it does not make sense in the House to have made that commitment.
I don’t get it. The answer MAY just be as simple as ‘they’re just stupid’. But I don’t want to believe it’s that simple. They’re working some angle somewhere.
Maquisard
Reid and Pelosi may be dumb...
writeblock Tuesday, November 3rd at 1:10PM EST (link)…but they can count votes and read polls. My guess is the numbers have them scared but they can’t show it. So they’re going through the motions to appease the left. The bill gets voted down, they sigh with relief and focus on how to regain their political footing.
I think you're getting close, but it is actually a little bit worse than that.
The_Gadfly Wednesday, November 4th at 7:49AM EST (link)Dan is right: this behavior isn’t rational. So they aren’t acting on that basis. And frankly, being rather good at what I call negative logic systems (a sort of logic process that consistently brings you to the same illogical conclusion), there aren’t any of these at work either. When neither of these systems work, there is only one thing left: fear. The fascist triumvirate know they have been agitating the left. They know mobs can get out of hand. They figured we’d roll over because THEY are afraid of their mob, but we did something they didn’t expect: we fought back. They are just now realizing they can’t control the mob they have been agitating, and it just might come after them because they can’t get to us and they want their pound of flesh. In short they are scared crapless and reacting purely out of fear.
We’ve been called racists enough now that it shouldn’t bother us any more.
-AChance, http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/11/03/what-men-may-do-we-have-done/#comment-24463
If NY23 was a beat down for Conservatives, what do you call what happened to Progressives in NJ and VA?
inspired by ColdWarrior, http://www.redstate.com/hooah_mac/2009/11/04/ny-23-the-agony-of-defeat-not-so-much/#comment-156
Perhaps they think if they wait
Dan Perrin Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:41PM EST (link)they will not be able to roll the left as they have been doing
They think the left
Dan Perrin Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:41PM EST (link)will lose faith and begin to carry out their threats to vote NO?
1.45 trillion
Ann_W Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:46PM EST (link)The second time you mentioned the amount you said “billion” instead.
Reminds me of a bumpersticker I read recently, “Please don’t tell Obama what comes after a trillion.”
Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Friedman
Obama, nancy Pelosi, obamacare, they go together!
njre Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:49PM EST (link)Obama and Pelosi know their days are numbered, so they day dream of rushing to shove obamacare down our throats as a ‘legacy’. Well guess what we are storming the halls of Congress before they can do anything! Meanwhile we are educating our youth about Obamacare.
Dick Morris says the best way to now stop ObamaCare is to educate those under 30. This 3-D, anti-Obamacare ad is a great way to do it on their own turf: YouTube.
(And yes, if you have the red-blue 3-D glasses, it really is in amazing 3-D!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpQlTN9kgfo
THIS is how conservatives need to start diversifying their messages to the youth audience so conservative messages all aren’t just scenes of tea parties and paintings of patriotic scenes. Please make this go viral, everyone. Please hurry! We can make an impact!
njre check this out
h ttp://www.scribd.com/doc/20917727/WHOARETHEBIRTHERS4-0
h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpQlTN9kgfo
This guy aught to be Speaker one day
mdd1956 Wednesday, November 4th at 7:45AM EST (link)http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=G44NCvNDLfc
4 minute clip