Posted on 03/02/2010 3:40:50 PM PST by truthandlife
White House officials tell ABC News that in his remarks tomorrow President Obama will indicate a willingness to work with Republicans on some issue to get a health care reform bill passed but will say that if it is necessary, Democrats will use the controversial reconciliation rules requiring only 51 Senate votes to pass the "fix" to the Senate bill.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been awaiting the presidents remarks direction on how health care reform will proceed.
In his remarks, scheduled to be at the White House, the president will paint a picture of what he will say will happen without a health care reform bill skyrocketing premiums, everyone at the mercy of the insurance industry as recently seen with the 39% premium increases proposed by Anthem Blue Cross in California.
He will note that the fixed bill will include the proposal for a new "Health Insurance Rate Authority" to set guidelines for reasonable rate increases. If proposed premium increases are not justifiable per those Health Insurance Rate Authority guidelines, the Health and Human Services Secretary or state regulators could block them.
The president will outline the plan to pass the bill, including having the House of Representatives pass the Democratic Senate health care reform legislation as well as a second bill containing various fixes.
He will say that if Republicans refuse to allow and up or down vote in the Senate on the fixes to the bill, Democrats will use the reconciliation rules.
He will argue these rules are perfectly appropriate because the procedure is not being used for the whole bill, just for some fixes; because reconciliation rules are traditionally used for deficit reduction and health care reform will reduce the deficit;
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.abcnews.com ...
I hope you are right, but so far Pelosi has pushed through everything she tried to pass, including crap and trade and the porkulus.
True, but Pelosi couldn’t push through Obamacare without the Stupak-Pitts language that barred abortion funding. She didn’t have the votes then, and she has fewer votes now.
This is what the Dems seem to be planning:
1) Write a reconciliation bill based on the senate healthcare bill. This bill might add something like the Stupak amendment, although I don’t know how they could claim an abortion change would be budget related. It would also have bribes and other changes like taking out the cadillac tax.
2) “Explain” to the Dems in the house that this will “fix” the senate bill, and pass it in the house, and break the legs of reluctant donkeys. I don’t know if it will pass, but don’t underestimate the evil abilities of Pelosi. Dems could push it though with very few R votes.
3) Get 51 votes in the senate. Since the original senate bill is not approved in the house yet, I don’t see how the senate parliamentarian could even rule on objections to changes to the original bill, because theoretically a bill not yet passed in the house could be changed again in the bicameral conference. But Dems want Biden to overrule the senate parliamentarian on all “important” issues. Legislative sleaze in every sense of the word.
4) “Explain,” bribe, muscle, etc. again. Dems push it though with very few R votes. Since the reconciliation bill has passed both houses, and we expect it to contain enough changes to give stubborn donkeys an excuse to vote for it, the original senate bill would pass in the house.
5)Obama first signs the original senate bill, then the reconciliation bill.
If they were able to do all this, it would take a Constitutional amendment just to fix the process.
I think what you've outlined is very likely what will happen, if it happens. I don't think that they'll get any Republican support, whatsoever.
He's not talking to Republicans, he's talking to Independent voters trying to convince them that the Republicans are obstructionists and this is the only way to get anything done. I doubt the Independents are going to find such an argument compelling.
The Democrats are counting on a couple of things. First, even if the Republicans take back the House in 2010, they still won't have enough votes to "undo" Obama Pelosi Reid Agglomerated Health-Care as long as Obama is President. If the Republicans gain enough control in 2012 to "undo" Obama Pelosi Reid Agglomerated Health-Care they believe that their constituents will riot in the streets. They know Republicans can't buck the rioters without being called "racist" and they know Republicans fear being called "racist" more than anything. Consequently, if they pass Obama Pelosi Reid Agglomerated Health-Care now using the "nuclear option"; it will be permanent. Which brings up the question: Should we engage in "something" while they are using the "nuclear option" to take our freedom? |
Let’s see how it plays out over the next couple of days.
John
The Democrats look resigned to losing everything in 2010. They no longer care.
So what other methods can be brought to bear? How about massive civil disobedience?
shows how he was influenced by Alinsky: any means to achieve
the end result.
I don't have any choice! I'm watching.
;-)
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