Micheal E. Hammond, former General Counsel of the U.S. Senate Steering Committee, is one of the preeminent experts on U.S. Senate procedure. Here is what he says about passing ObamaCare via reconciliation.
February 22, 2010, 10:00 a.m. EST
MEMORANDUM
FROM: Michael Hammond
RE: New Obama Health Care Draft
As of this hour, there is an 11-page document on the White House web site outlining Obama’s newest version of ObamaCare. Before laying out a summary of the most recent Obama proposal, I would like to make a couple preliminary points:
PRELIMINARY POINT #1: OBAMACARE CANNOT BE PASSED
THROUGH RECONCILIATION
There are several reasons for this:
First, you cannot get the bill through the House
without “fixing” abortion, and you cannot do
abortion on reconciliation in the Senate.
Cao will not be the deciding vote. This means that,
if absolutely nothing has changed, the current House
vote count on the House bill is 217-216. But things
have changed:
-Public support for ObamaCare has continued to
sink through the floor.
-Between 10 and 12 “yes” votes would vote against
the Senate bill based on its abortion language.
-Many House Democrats are still uncomfortable
about the “Cadillac tax.”
But, under the Byrd Rule (which prohibits
reconciliation language with budgetary implications
which are only ancillary to the policy
ramifications), you can’t fix abortion on
reconciliation. We have asked Senate parliamentarian
Alan Frumin concerning our ability to offer abortion
amendments to reconciliation, and he has adamantly
stood by the position that this is not allowed. And,
to get around the Byrd Rule, the Senate requires 60
votes. Without an abortion “fix,” this bill cannot
pass the House.
Furthermore, the new provision to allow the
government to set insurance rates is also a violation
of the Byrd Rule.
Also, the $60 billion union “fix” requires a $62
billion offset. And the additional substantial costs
of Obama’s proposal would also have to be offset.
Assuming they take the entire $2.5 trillion package
and pass the whole thing through reconciliation, they
can pay for some of these costs with the phony $124
billion budget “surplus” contained in the Senate-
passed bill. The downside of this is that the
insurance “reforms” (preexisting conditions, limits
on copayments, etc.) which form the core of the bill
will be thrown out under the Byrd Rule.
But, assuming they are using reconciliation for
nothing more than a “fix,” they have to come up with
a new set of offsets. The offsets on the Senate bill
are unavailable to them. And it’s not like it has
been easy to come up with the offsets they have.
In order to comply with the 1974 Act, these offsets
would have to make the reconciliation bill compliant
with the reconciliation instructions during the first
five-year window and revenue-neutral in every year
thereafter. Thus far, NO VERSION OF THE LEGISLATION
HAS BEEN ABLE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT, EVEN
USING THE PHONY ACCOUNTING GIMMICKS.
Incidentally, Pelosi is now demanding that the Senate
act on reconciliation before House members are forced
to put their necks on the line again. But a Senate-
initiated tax bill is unconstitutional, and would be
“blue slipped” in the House.
Incidentally, the 1974 Act allows an unlimited number of amendments to be offered, without debate, at the end of the 20-hour statutory time for debate. My recommendation would be that, if Senate Democrats decide to invoke the “nuclear option” and throw out the Senate rules in order to do reconciliation, that the first ten amendments be the pro-gun agenda.
Finally, the Senate has failed to comply with the reconciliation instructions that mandated reporting by October 15. And, although they may get a pass on this, the production of a new concurrent budget resolution will extinguish this possibility unequivocally.
PRELIMIARY POINT #2:
What bothered the American people, as much as anything, was the perception that the Senate’s ObamaCare bill was produced by fraud, secrecy, corruption, bribery, and extortion. Rather than improve the process, the White House has actually made it more corrupt by –-
-threatening to fraudulently take a process
restricted SOLELY to deficit reduction and using
it to pass the biggest deficit engine in human
history; and
-refusing to release legislative language, in the
hope that controversies can be kept secret.
WHAT THE NEW OBAMA PROPOSAL WOULD DO
The newest Obama proposal consists of the Senate bill, tweaked in the following ways:
-Elimination of Ben Nelson’s Nebraska bribe, in favor
of more generalized federal Medicaid aid to states
which Nelson was demanding.
-Taxes:
-increase of the “Cadillac tax” threshold from
$23,000 to $27,500;
-increase of the Senate tax on “high-income”
households by 2.9% for income from interest,
dividends, annuities, royalties, rents, and
trade and business income;
-increase of pharmaceutical taxes from $23
billion to $33 billion;
-miscellaneous “loophole” closings dealing with
biofuels and “unjustified tax shelters.”
-An unspecified “series of changes” in the long-term
care Ponzi scheme created by the bill.
-Delay in the $67 billion assessment on health
insurers -– and modification of the $20 billion fee
on medical devices.
-Full phase-out of the “donut hole” by (1) initially
offering a $250 Medicare rebate to those who hit the
“donut hole,” and (2) claiming to close the hole
entirely by 2020 by phasing down the coinsurance
requirement to the standard rate applicable to
non-donut hole prescription drug expenditures.
-Increase the Senate’s $8.5 billion for “community
health centers” (theoretically benefiting Planned
Parenthood and ACORN-type groups) to $11 billion.
-Destruction of “grandfather clauses” allowing you to
“keep the coverage you currently have” by adding a
whole bunch of new mandates on the policies “you
currently have,” including:
-coverage of dependents to age 26;
-federally mandated changes in appeals processes;
-rescission prohibitions;
-limits on copayments and deductibles;
-bans on preexisting conditions;
-mandated review of rates, conducted by states
but in accordance with oversight by HHS.
-Increase of the subsidies for families earning below
$55,000.
-A tweak of the penalties which Americans would have
to pay if they refused to purchase government-
mandated insurance by, inter alis, slightly lowering
the Senate’s flat-dollar penalties by $55 (indexed by
inflation) -– and also tweaks the formula for
determining penalties imposed on employers.
-Creation of a new Health Insurance Rate Authority to
review rates –- and oversee state reviews in a way
that would effectively give the federal government
regulatory control over insurance rates.
-Creation of a series of cost-control measures,
including:
-a database on sanctions which have been
imposed;
-a registration requirement for billing agencies;
-broader access to a database concerning “quality
control and peer review organizations”;
-liability for Medicare administrative
contractors who submit bills on behalf of non-
eligible providers;
-strengthened standards for community mental
health centers;
-limits on bankruptcy protection for “fraudulent
health care providers”;
-expedited analysis of claims data;
-criminal penalties for sale of private Medicare
beneficiary information;
-a study on the benefits of the medical use of
universal product numbers;
-“profiling” of Medicaid prescription drug use;
-tightened review of and cuts to Medicare
Advantage;
-removal of current statutory limits on random
medical review of certain Medicare payments;
-establishment of a Medicare/IRS datamatch;
-an expansion of FTC enforcement authority to
limit payments for limiting development and
marketing of generic drugs
JadedByPolitics
Michael Becker
Ben Domenech
Erick Brockway
Anything about IMAB? nt
mikerazar Monday, February 22nd at 4:40PM EST (link)Just talked to a producer in Hollywood
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:48PM EST (link)They are titling the movie Captain Ahab Hunts the Greate White Healthcare Whale.
Um, can someone explain how this --
saltlick Monday, February 22nd at 4:50PM EST (link)…the Senate’s ObamaCare bill was produced by fraud, secrecy, corruption, bribery, and extortion…
— doesn’t cobtradict this post’s title?
I do hope someone is proactively considering how we respond to a fraudulent cram-down.
You may be right, Saltlick.
Vassar Bushmills Monday, February 22nd at 5:16PM EST (link)I hope the author is right, but in light of the players and the prize, you’re right to be a doubting Thomas. If a “steal” can be thought, it can be stolen, that is the Left’s mantra.
For safety’s sake, i say we come up with counter plans, anyway. A good war game exercise, don’t you think.
I lat that game on the table tommorw. I’ve been working on it for two days.
Sad, though, just imagine what would happen if only two or three Democrats got a conscience. Oh, well, an indictment works just as well.
The unstated terminal word in the title is "legally."
redneck_hippie Monday, February 22nd at 6:15PM EST (link)I put nothing past these jerks. Nothing.
I still don’t think they’ll pull it off. One reason is that the promise of a position in the Obama administration has a term limit of less than 3 years, when our next president is elected.
The rats mistake our resolve which is what will close down their doom. They think by laying seige to our liberty we will become demoralized and slink out of the fortress to collect our bit of black, moldy bread. Easy for them to think this way because they wouldn’t know courage if it bit them in their keister.
Probably they’d be wise to contemplate the Gadsden flag and its motto, don’t tread on me and think about what happens next.
“We must not lose our faculty to dare, especially in dark days.” - Churchill in March, 1942.
Remember NY-23; translation: RINOs Have No Base.
Don't let the rhetoric get in the way of the
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:49PM EST (link)facts.
Thanks, as always, Dan.
NDPhog Monday, February 22nd at 4:50PM EST (link)Your posts are a regular and welcome respite from chicken littles and the mainstream media being 3 days behind and not considering the details.
Reconciliation won’t work.
If it does get through the Senate, the bill doesn’t have the votes in the House w/o abortion changes, and probably not without them.
I figured the Byrd amend. would put a kink in it.
archer52 Monday, February 22nd at 4:59PM EST (link)I read the Byrd amendment highlights and it seemed to directly block any Senate action. They could ignore it, but at what peril. Also, as you pointed out, bills involving budget issues cannot be generated in the Senate. It has to come from the House, unless they ignore that to.
The only way this goes through is if the House and Senate leadership cheats beyond anything ever done before. Reid is losing. Nancy is willing to give up her chair. That is a lot to ask any career politician to do, so what is the reason? The real reason?
I'm Concerned They Will Cheat.
Repair_Man_Jack Monday, February 22nd at 5:07PM EST (link)If we still had a society of laws and not men, Dan Perrin would probably have nailed this. I think they will manufacture an out here.
1) The CBO can’t score the current Obama proposal. It’s too murky. (We hence have a harder time proving it fails the Byrd Amendment test.)
2) We cannot count on any major media outlet to totally throw down on these people. (Would you like to run the first network to call this unconsitutional and imply that possible grounds for impeachment existed for the first African-American US President?)
3) Related to #2. Would you like to be a GOP House Manager rguing for that impeachemnt if that’s the extent to which we had to fight this effort?
The only clear path here is to get onto incumbant Democrats hard and make them continue to wonder what life will hold in store for them after election 2010. The system could very much fail to work here.
“smug doesn’t balance a spreadsheet” -Moe lane
I Know They Will Cheat: Guaranteed!
Ausonius Monday, February 22nd at 5:26PM EST (link)And yes, the ultimate question is: how many of the professional Dem politicians have I.Q.’s larger than a gooseberry pie and will vote NO?
I suspect that there are not enough: they are so infected with D.C.-itis and so insulated from reality that they will follow MAObama, Reid, and Pelosi over the cliff.
Consider a scenario after 2010: the electorate is so outraged that when repealing this mess is attempted - and vetoed - anger in 2012 is so great that the Republicans could run Forrest Gump for the White House and win a landslide.
The problem will be to keep the anger focused and purposeful over that amount of time!
Ausonius: 310-395 A.D. Teacher, Poet, Consul, General, Farmer.
Personal Tutor to the future St. Paulinus of Nola and to young Gratian, heir to the throne during the turbulent final years of the Western Roman Empire. When his former student Gratian was assassinated, Ausonius threw up his hands and retired to his farm in Gaul. Rome was captured by barbarians 14 years after his death.
Good Summation
scarlettsays Monday, February 22nd at 5:04PM EST (link)This is an excellent post. It’s too bad the Senate rules are so hard and complex for the average voter (and, dare I say, the average Senator?) to understand.
-so says Scarlett
http://scarlettsays.blogspot.com/
Thanks again Dan...
Nodak61 Monday, February 22nd at 5:05PM EST (link)I always look forward to your posts.
An Irish pal of mine told me that as a youngster, whenever he took a contrary view, or foolish position, his dad would ask him: “Is this the hill you want to die on?”
Has anyone ever asked Obama that question?
I remember watching a nature documentary a few years ago about some African natives living in a desert area. Whenever the people were in serious trouble, and in dire need of water, they’d punch a quarter sized hole in a termite mound and place a marble sized nugget of food in the opening. A monkey would eventually come along and trap himself in the hole,.. because he refused to release the nugget once he had a hold of it, and..couldn’t get his paw, AND the nugget back out of the opening. The monkey couldn’t even recognize his own dilemma.
Then, the natives would simply seize the monkey, feed it something salty,.. release it, and follow it to a hidden water source.
Obama is looking more and more like that monkey with his fist stuck in the termite mound. He just won’t let go of his precious ‘nugget’.
He deserves to roast under the hot sun,.. in the desert he created.
I've heard a similar monkey story
Finrod Monday, February 22nd at 6:45PM EST (link)This monkey story involved putting food inside a coconut; the monkey would grab the food inside the coconut but couldn’t get its hand out of the coconut, and with it trapped on its paw it couldn’t climb a tree to get away, which made it easy pickings to become food for the natives.
Finrod’s First Law of Bandwidth:
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it takes the bandwidth of ten thousand.
“So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late”
Oh, absolutely!
ss396 Monday, February 22nd at 5:13PM EST (link)And why not? If Congress can mandate purchasing health insurance as a requirement of citizenship, then they can mandate purchasing a rifle and ammunition as a condition of citizenship. With assistance programs for the poor, of course.
Exactly.
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:30PM EST (link)I’d love to buy another gun and it’s ammo on Uncle Sam.
Well Dan you have been RIGHT all along on this HORROR...
JadedByPolitics Monday, February 22nd at 5:19PM EST (link)so I am going to gently back off the cliff I was teetering on earlier today when I heard this MONSTER had ghoulishly put together another stake to the heart of FREE ENTERPRISE! I am just disgusted with these Democrats who seem to enjoy having Americans ANGRY constantly.
Did they not see/know the sense of relief the MAJORITY of us felt upon Scott Brown being elected? I suspect they did and yet they enjoy this POWER TRIP! I suggest they enjoy it some more because they will all be going home by the end of 2012 with Warner my other Senator going home in 2014.
Thanks Dan for keeping me sane
Whoever has his enemy at his mercy &
does not destroy him is his own enemy
I pray, Dan, that you are correct in your
throwback59 Monday, February 22nd at 5:31PM EST (link)assessment of the situation.
I am so angry at Obama for digging up this corpse (ahem, not corps) I can’t see straight.
This past year we beat these sons-of-dogs:
. in the town halls
. in the polls
. in the voting booths
and still they persist. We need to hold out till November.
Remember when he said in his State of the Union
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:54PM EST (link)he does not quit.
I wonder how many Dems realized he meant, I expect you to follow me in the charge of the light brigade?
re:
neoavatara Monday, February 22nd at 5:44PM EST (link)Interesting assessment…and generally agree. But I would put nothing past this congress or white house.
http://www.neoavatara.com/blog
The best bet at this point for stopping Obama care is the House
JSobieski Monday, February 22nd at 5:50PM EST (link)There are no safe House seats, and some of the so-called Blue Dogs are looking for an opportunity to actually give the name some meaning.
Bart Stupak has also proven that a democrat can be pro-life in a meaningful way, and not merely in name only (Casey, are you listening?)
Abortion and the public option are
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:56PM EST (link)lethal in the House.
The key is to drag it out and tar every Dem up this cycle with ObamaCare.
You know, give them another coat.
They will simply end up revolting and telling their leadership to STOP THE PAIN.
Isn't that fact amazing?
Return to Revolution Monday, February 22nd at 7:51PM EST (link)Isn’t one of the functions of the Senate supposed to be to cool off, slown down, and /or water down potentially hot-headed bills coming from the House? Yet the Senate is the more radical body (per abortion & public option).
Also amazing is that the dems could mitigate their 2010 losses if they played everything right. But they are doing the exact opposite. 50? 60? 80? If 80 seats becomes a possibility it will symmetrically flip the House (i.e., give Rs the same majority Ds now have).
The objective of “peace”, as defined by the peace movement, is the use of force to impose an egalitarian vision on society, and its alternative is not war, but liberty.
Actually the House version has the public option
JSobieski Monday, February 22nd at 11:13PM EST (link)The poison part is that many in the House have said they won’t vote for a plan that doesn’t include the public option—which of course is BS
Stupak’s pro-lifers are the only Dems who have backed up any “I won’t for it” statements with actual behavior
CAN'T PASS O'CARE ETC
antisesquipedalion Monday, February 22nd at 5:51PM EST (link)WHY DON’T THE DEMS KNOW ALL THIS STUFF ?
THERE SEEM TO BE OVERWHELMING ODDS AGAINST THIS AND YET THEY PERSIST OBLIVIOUSLY
a tiger is a tiger, even when behaving like tiger isn't particularly beneficial for the tiger
JSobieski Monday, February 22nd at 5:58PM EST (link)Besides, statists always try to bluff people into thinking that their victory is inevitable—this is just the routine playbook.
When you have no shame and no conscience, there really isn’t anything holding you back.
behavior
ModernAgeFan Monday, February 22nd at 6:04PM EST (link)Man you hit the nail on the head! They really don’t have any shame or conscience. But at least they are predictable once you get to know them.
There must be massive political pain
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:57PM EST (link)inflicted on these lambs being lead to the slaughter by Reid and the irrational Speaker and the desperate President.
Broken record
ModernAgeFan Monday, February 22nd at 6:01PM EST (link)I get the feeling that Obama is like one of those GI Joe dolls we had back in the 70s, every time you pull the cord he says the same thing. In the beginning its kind of neat to hear the little man talk. But now we are all kind of tired of the recording and its not fun to pull the cord anymore cause you know what comes next. Obama is so deluded he will probably be saying the same crap after November. It is sort of sad and comical in a way, that someone could be so out of touch.
You are insulting GI Joes!
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:58PM EST (link)n/t
Thanks as usual, Dan!
teresakoch Monday, February 22nd at 6:02PM EST (link)God willing, this will be unable to get any further. Staying vigilant until it’s dead for sure, though…..
Every Dem up in the fall must feel intense
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:59PM EST (link)political pain, equivalent to the torment they keep inflicting on the American public with their pedantic behavior.
Even If They Could, Would They?
crosley Monday, February 22nd at 6:10PM EST (link)I think the biggest stumbling block will simply be getting enough votes to pass a simple majority for the Senate bill in the House. I don’t think Pelosi has the votes.
I really do believe though, that they would scrap the filibuster and run roughshod over all those pesky “rules” to pass this if that’s the only thing standing in their way. I really don’t know what could be done about it if they do just muscle it through and ignore these longstanding rules in the Senate.
I don’t want ObamaCare to pass, but I really do believe if it does, Obama is nearly certain to be a one-term President (all those pledges he made against tax increases on the middle-class will be his “read my lips” moment) and Republicans will have lopsided majorities in both the Senate and the House if Democrats go down this path in the coming elections.
This is the key question
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 6:33PM EST (link)The House and Senate Dems have a key question to answer, and the gray beards in the past have answered no.
But the delusionals, the inexperienced, the desperate and the irrational are in charge of the Dems now.
They just gave the public the middle finger on an issue the independent voters hate.
It will not turn out well for the Dems.
Top Dem Says House Will Pass Obamacare With More Votes the 2nd Time Around
Mary Beth Monday, February 22nd at 6:12PM EST (link)Per Gateway Pundit:
Top Democrat House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that Obamacare will pass with more democratic votes the second time around.
The Hill reported:
The House will pass a new healthcare reform bill with a larger majority than it did on its first bill, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Monday.
Clyburn made his comments just after President Barack Obama unveiled his detailed health plan Monday morning. The move was intended to set the agenda for the bipartisan healthcare summit at the White House on Thursday.
“I do believe that if what I have seen and what I’ve been hearing is close to being accurate, I do believe that we can get there in the House,” he said on MSNBC. “We got there with some people holding out for some things that we have now gotten in the Senate plan and in the president’s proposal.
“I do believe there is more fertile soil today than when we first took this up.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) issued a cool statement about the plan earlier Monday, but Clyburn’s comments could indicate that the president’s proposal could make a vote on the Senate healthcare bill easier to stomach for wary House members.
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/02/top-dem-says-house-will-pass-obamacare-with-more-votes-the-2nd-time-around/
“A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.” ~ Ronald Reagan
BTW... I think this is just a show...
Mary Beth Monday, February 22nd at 6:13PM EST (link)…but it’s still important to know what the enemy is saying and projecting…
“A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.” ~ Ronald Reagan
They have lusted
nancylee Monday, February 22nd at 6:12PM EST (link)…after nationalized health care since the FDR administration and they have never been this close before. They will lie, cheat and extort , sacrifice their majorities and their careers to ram this monstrosity through. I think Dan would be right in his arguments in any other situation than this one, but in this one I think he is wrong. The Democrats are on a suicide mission to bring their dream to reality.
They know that if they can force Obamacare on the unwilling electorate they can turn this country into the one of their dreams — forever leftist.
They will not stop unless the electorate stops them. I pray that the American people will fight like never before to save our country. We have never been in more danger than we are at this minute, and I have never been so scared of my own government.
You said it...
graciegirl Monday, February 22nd at 6:49PM EST (link)I too have never been so scared of my own government. I am scared to even write the White House. I don’t want to fill out the Census past the required information and I am scared not to. Remember he wanted people to turn in their neighbors re: the Internet. Now he wants to listen in to our cell phones.
We should not have to be scared of our government in America.
I want Dan to be right about this! I think their idea is to pass SOMETHING and then they will fix it later. I think that is what they are telling each other. What’s stopping them from doing that?
Expect Obama's ratings to take another hit
Dan Perrin Monday, February 22nd at 7:00PM EST (link)after this
Nonsense, the parlimentarian's ruling's aren't binding
Maureenthetemp Monday, February 22nd at 6:29PM EST (link)Biden, in his position as President of the Senate, can disregard the parlimentarian. What Frumin thinks just does not matter. Biden rules it’s in order and that’s the end of it.
I have said, and I still believe, the Dems will ram this through. Unlike us, they think long term. So they lose the House — so they lose BOTH chambers — this bill turns us into Europe. It becomes, like Social Security, a middle class entitlement that the Dems can always “outbid” us on. No matter how well we do this year, no way do we pick up the 2/3 we would need to rescind this over Obama’s veto - and the Dems know it. Everyone has said, at every stage in this process, “Oh it won’t pass” — and it keeps moving. Obama knows very well what this will ultimately do to the country, it’s the “all the marbles” play the left has wanted for generations. He and the hard core left just do not care, short term, how many seats they lose over this since it makes us the socialist paradise they want.
Guess what? Obaba is lying
clintonformccain Monday, February 22nd at 6:29PM EST (link)Hopey the Clown has no intention of ever goign to reconcilation. He’s just promising the House Democrats that he is planning to so they will vote to approve the already-passed Senate bill.
As soon as that happens, he’ll say, “Ooops. Sorry. I guess we can’t do reconciliation. Oh well, we tried….”
And then he’ll claim that he has created at least a dozen knew bus driver jobs (with special training in going back and forth between forward and reverse gears!)
Very good information
sdsundevil Monday, February 22nd at 6:31PM EST (link)This is the kind of thing that the MSM, and to some degree Fox News fail to report on - the brass tacks of the legislative process. Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC may be overbearing at times, but he has been very insightful as to the sausage making process. That’s why he thought ObamaCare would not pass early on, even though he’s a liberal and would like to see it pass.
The bottom line at this point is that ObamaCare by reconciliation hands Congress (both House & Senate) over to the Republicans as it’ll be a complete wipe out in November. No rational independent will stand for this kind of tyranny.
I tend to agree..reconciliation will not happen
jaykali Monday, February 22nd at 6:50PM EST (link)The media propagates this idea like they propagate the price of the bill being $800-900 billion when its really a couple trillion. I don’t think you can just bypass rules like you’re Iran or something. I fear our democracy if they can completely ignore their own rules. I think this will give us all an ice cream headache for a while longer but it’s not going to happen.
Look at it from the positive side, they are taking all the flak for these awful bills and yet they will come away with nothing. I don’t think Obama will change course until they lose big in November, at that point they’ll have to have some sort of course correction.
What a Gem
reaganiterepublicanresistance Monday, February 22nd at 6:54PM EST (link)I’d rather go to a witch doctor in Haiti, LOL
What a nightmare…
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
PS- Empty Threat
reaganiterepublicanresistance Monday, February 22nd at 6:59PM EST (link)I always thought that reconcilliation was an empty threat utilized to create a sense of inevitability… perhaps sucking a couple RINOs into the net, then they could actually pass it.
This crew is indeed desperate… this is the end of Obama’s agenda
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
I am kinda thinking that is what they are really after.
jeffreywturner Monday, February 22nd at 8:27PM EST (link)They are talking up the idea of reconciliation in hopes that 1 or 2 Republicans will take the bait and agree to a bill with a couple of window-dressing concessions.
Then that Republican would use the old “I had to negotiate with them, at least it prevented them from passing something even worse under reconciliation” line.
This is kinda similar to the “I might as well enlist, because it will be worse if I get drafted” argument.
“Life is too short, can’t we all just eat pork and kill some terrorists?”
Flat no.
snowshooze Monday, February 22nd at 8:43PM EST (link)Keep up the heat. I wrote my sellout DEM Senator Begich of Alaska and told him no to all.
No compromise..no way, no time, no how…no.
Everybody, keep yelling.
They say ” Eat $hxx or go blind”
I will rather go blind. Every time.
I will also go after my Republican Congress critters and tell them not to give an inch. This battle is for all the chips, if they pull this off, we are totally screwed.
The only problem with this article...
traversecityconservative Monday, February 22nd at 10:04PM EST (link)is that you’re assuming the Dems will follow the usual rules. They won’t. There is no one to stop them.
Why is this UNCONSTITUTIONAL
livingfortruth Tuesday, February 23rd at 1:03AM EST (link)garbage still on the table? The constitution CLEARLY states that those things NOT ENUMERATED for congress to do is left for the states. It can’t even use the Interstate Commerce clause as the Democrats will not allow for interstate medical insurance commerce.
And the tax on every citizen who choses NOT to become a nave of the Federal Government takes away LIBERTY.
http://livingfortruth.wordpress.com/
I love my God, my wife and family, my country, conservatism and FREEDOM.
http://livingfortruth.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/how-the-west-was-lost/
The Democrats are insane
Adjoran Tuesday, February 23rd at 3:04AM EST (link)How do they ever think this will work?
Suppose they do pass the bill by bending the rules (Biden overrules the Senate Parliamentarian, allowing the policy changes), it is going to be seen as forcing it down the public’s throats, and hurt Democrats even more in November.
Besides that, this isn’t some entitlement which engenders an instant constituency to lobby against repeal. They aren’t giving ANY benefits the first five years - only collecting taxes. Between court challenges and elections, it will never be put into place.