Posted on 11/09/2009 11:16:45 AM PST by CJBernard
Besides, in a stroke of strategic brilliance from an otherwise dim bulb, Pelosi played to the social conservatives and made fools of them using their own hottest-of-buttons issue--abortion--against them. As I wrote yesterday morning here at America's Right, and as I guessed almost perfectly on October 30, Pelosi and the Democrats used their lack of respect for unborn life as a shell game of sorts.
Those who stood opposed to this bill got suckered, big time, by the woman in the blood-red body condom. She and her flunkies included, in the 2,000-plus pages of H.R. 3962, a provision which would have allowed the federal funding of abortion procedures, a provision which runs afoul of the Hyde Amendment, controlling law which prohibits just that. But the Republicans in particular took the bait, going so far as to propose an amendment striking the controversial provision from the legislation as a whole. And when the Democrats passed that amendment, giving those opposed to the bill to begin with a miniscule victory, it was enough to provide the false sense of security I wrote about a little more than a week ago and allow for the passage of the rest of the bill at large.
In other words, the Democrats included a patently illegal provision in the health care reform bill, those who opposed the legislation used it as a sticking point, and the Democrats did what they had planned all along -- concede the unlawful provision and allow the detractors to win a minor fist-fight but subsequently lose the rest of the war.
(Excerpt) Read more at americasright.com ...
The only people fooled are those who want to be fooled.
They did not “fool” anyone. They manufactured a campaign lie for the Blue Dogs. Now in 2010 they will run around their conservative districts screaming how they “voted pro life” and cover up the fact the amendment will never be included in the final bill
VERY good point, MNJohnnie.
I like the “manufactured campaign lie” assessment.
I take it back. They did fool you.
This was going to pass with, or with out, the Amendment. Enough of the Blue Dogs were going to vote for the main bill no matter what happened to the Amendment.
IF the GOP opposed the Amendment, the Blue Dogs run around campaigning in 2010 saying "we tried but the mean old GOP killed the Pro life amendment".
If the Amendment Passes, they vote for it, knowing it is meaningless and now campaign on "we got the pro Life Amendment put in the health care bill.
Politically there was no way for the GOP to win on this one.
Taxpayer funded abortion will be re-inserted in the final legislation. Since when did congress mind doing something illegal? Most of their legislation is un-Constitutional anyway.
The real problem with socialized medicine is not the abortion provision anyway. It is the $1.2 trillion cost which will come in the form of higher taxes, cuts to Social Security retirement and disability benefits and cuts to Medicare.
The GOP could’ve easily won this one by not arguing the point at all. Let the bill go to a vote without any amendment on it and challenge the constitutionality of the entire bill on this sticking point later after it became law. If the GOP were intelligent they would’ve seized on this tactical opportunity properly. Instead they made a big issue out of it and played their hand too soon.
YMMV
to read later
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