Posted on 03/14/2010 8:32:39 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Washington Examiner reports that House Democrats appear poised to adopt a rule that would pass the Senate health care bill without actually voting on it.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) is preparing to pass the health care overhaul through the House of Representatives without a vote, as was originally reported by the National Journals Congress Daily. Mark Tapscott observes that such a maneuver would be the penultimate refutation of the peoples will.
In the Slaughter Solution, the rule would declare that the House deems the Senate version of Obamacare to have been passed by the House. House members would still have to vote on whether to accept the rule, but they would then be able to say they only voted for a rule, not for the bill itself.
Thus, Slaughter is preparing a rule that would consider the Senate bill passed once the House approves a corrections bill that would make changes. Democrats would thereby avoid a direct vote on the health care bill while allowing it to become law!
The Greatest Assault on the Constitution In Your Lifetime
Constitutional attorney Mark R. Levin asks, Theyre going to present a rule, issued by her committee as chairman, that says that the House already adopted the Senate bill when we know it didnt?
U.S Constitution, Article I, Section VII, Clause II.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively
According to Levin, James Madison himself gave special care and attention to this clause in the Constitution.
Levin: And do you want to know why? Because this clause goes to the heart of this Republic.
This clause goes to the heart of how our representative body, that is Congress, makes laws. And so I want you to [observe] how particular the Framers were They have to pass a Bill to present it to the President
This is one of the most exacting clauses in the Constitution.
And, to the best of my knowledge, which extends over three decades, no Congress has previously tried to institute policies without actual statutes.
Here we have the President of the United States and Congressional leaders actually talking about the possibility of a brazen and open violation of one of the most fundamental aspects of our Constitution and Republic! How we actually make laws!
Let me be as clear as I know how. If this is done, this will create the greatest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. It would be 100 times worse than Watergate.
It would be government by fiat meaning there would be no law the mere discussion by officials in this government is such a grotesque violation of the actual legislative function of Congress [that it] puts us at the brink. At the brink.
This is why we conservatives revere the Constitution. This is why we stress the Constitutions words have meaning and historical context and must be complied with. Because otherwise we have anarchy, which leads to tyranny.
This is a crucial lesson for those of you who arent sure what your beliefs are, or if you have any beliefs. Or arent sure if you even care. We have an effort underway by the one of the most powerful chairmen in Congress, the woman who heads the Rules Committee, openly discussing gutting Congress. Gutting Congress.
And if this is done, this is about as close to martial law as youll ever get So Louise Slaughter, a Representative from New York, is discussing, in essence, martial law. Now I can tell you, if they pursue this process, and try to impose this kind of a law, without actually passing a statute, that I will be in a race with scores of others to the courthouse to stop this.
I cant think of a more blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution than this. And the liberal media has essentially ignored it!
Its not only absurd on its face that these power-hungry ideologues, party-first-country-second types, would make the claim that the House voted on something it never voted on thats not only absurd on its face, its blatantly unconstitutional!
Levin: I wanted to bring additional firepower on this subject, my buddy Arthur Fergenson, who is a Constitutional expert and who has argued cases in front of the Supreme Court, including Buckley vs. Valeo
What do you make of this unbelievable that theyre even talking about, this chairman of the Rules Committee acting as if members of the House voted on something when they didnt actually vote on it?
Fergenson: Its preposterous. Its ludicrous. But its also dangerous. Its dangerous because, first, because [the U.S. Constitution's] Article I Section VII says every bill and it capitalized bill it is common sense that the bill is the same item, it cant be multiple bills, it cant be mashups of bills. And, in fact, in 1986, Gene Gressman, no conservative, and one of the experts the expert on Supreme Court practice was writing an article that was dealing with a less problematic attempt to get around this section of the Constitution [Ed: the line-item veto] and he wrote, By long usage and plain meaning, Bill means any singular and entire piece of legislation in the form it was approved by the two houses.
the bills have to be revoted until they are identical. Both chambers have to vote on the bill.
If this cockamamie proposal were to be followed by the House and there were to be a bill presented to the President for his signature, that was a bill that had not been voted on identically by the two Houses of Congress that bill would be a nullity. It is not law. That is chaos.
I cannot recall any circumstance in which that has happened.
What we have here is a measure, that if Obama signed it, would immediately affect taxation, it would change rules of practice in the insurance industry, it would regulate 17% of the nations economy, and it would be done without any legal basis whatsoever!
Fergenson: Its like, the closest I can think of is martial law! The President would have no authority there would be no law! Its not like it would be constitutional or not. There would be. No. Law.
Levin: What do you make of people who sit around and even think of things like this? To me, they are absolutely unfit to even be in high office!
Fergenson: Youre right, Mark. And I would go back to what caused Gressman to write this he was asked for his comments by the Senate because the Senate was trying to do the equivalent of a line-item veto. And, in 1986, you were in the Justice Department under Attorney General Meese there was a proposal to take a bill and divide it into little pieces and.. then the President would sign each one or veto each one. That was unconstitutional. A Senate Rules Committee reported it unfavorably.
Levin: You know whats interesting about this Attorney General Ed Meese considered it unconstitutional even though President Reagan had wanted a line-item veto. And President Reagan agreed that it was unconstitutional without an amendment to the Constitution
Speaking for myself, I would tell the people who listen to this program that you are under absolutely no obligation to comply with it [this health care bill] because it is not, in fact, law. Do you agree with me?
Fergenson: I agree with you. I believe it would be tested by the Supreme Court. I believe that, under these circumstances, chaos would reign. There is no obligation to obey an unconstitutional law. The courts are empowered to determine whether its unconstitutional its not a law.
Under this scenario, the various arms of the federal government will be acting under a law that does not exist.
Even Dem voters (and even some "journalists") must realize that if this happens...
This confiscation of power (if allowed) would never stop at just health care.
This is Marbury vs Madison meets the Communist Manifesto for the Congress.
We mere voters would be forever dis-enfranchised.
.
November can’t come soon enough for me! Impeachment would
be nice now!
I must have made 10 posts tonight which expresses the same sentiments you have expressed. War has been declared on the citizens of this country and it is not the Islamic terrorists who are doing the damage. You know who it is as well as I. It seems that everyone on FR is ignoring what I have been saying about this subject. Obama is just part of the problem. It is congress. It is the federal agencies. It is the unions. It is the federal judges. The list goes on forever.
This clause refers to a bill being repassed over the presidential veto, not to all laws, many of which are routinely passed on a voice vote.
Congressman Billybob
They know where the enemies lie. Read post#34 which is also the Daily Prayer for America.
ANY house member who goes along with this, especially the speaker need to meet the same.
Congressman Billybob
Well I agree and doubt impeachment has a snowball’s chance in hell. No other options unless there is indisputable evidence that Obama is ineligible to be POTUS. That has no chance in hell either. Not going to go any further for fear of trouble.
Congressman Billybob
My congressman won’t even engage me. So I wrote to Jason Altmire, presumably a Dem on the fence. Well, his email system is set up so that if you’re not from his district, your email will be discarded.
Fine with me. When these fellas run for re-election, I will remember, and I will make sure the voters remember too.
That is not my reading of that sentence. It says in ALL such cases, not in THIS case.
passive/aggressive + criminal + lunatic = progressive liberals
Glad to have you as a brother! I think I will go say my prayers now.
Yeah, I've been reading these veiled and no-so-veiled threats from Freepers about a Civil War over health care for months now. When it passes, other than a few skirmishes that will be quickly squashed by the govt, it will all over but the paying of the taxes.
‘deemed passed’
.............
is it signable by the President?
Who's "no one", white man?...
If they do this then every lying one of them voted yes!
And what do you think the US armed services would do? Would they fire on American citizens protecting the Constitution?
I just have pictures in my mind of Patriots being blown up by Apaches for standing up to the constitution. Maybe I am paranoid.
LOUISE SLAUGTER IS A MARXIST MEMBER OF THE CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS
THE CPC MUST BE DESTROYED AS A LEGITIMATE ABOVE GROUND CAUCUS OPERATING FREELY ON CAPITAL HILL AND ITS TRAITOROUS MEMBERS CALLED TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ACTIONS
The following members of Congress are Marxists and terrorist coddlers who have rebranded themselves as Progressives in an attempt to hide their agenda
Nancy Pelosi was one of the original members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and only left when she was named Minority Leader.
She is now Speaker of the House and 2 heartbeats away from President of the United States.
All members are members of the Democratic Party or caucus with the Democratic Party. There are currently 82 total declared Progressives including 79 voting Representatives, 2 non-voting Delegates, and 1 Senator.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus
[edit] Arizona
* Ed Pastor (AZ-4, Phoenix)
* Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7, Tucson) - Co-Chair
[edit] California
* Lynn Woolsey (CA-6, Santa Rosa) - Co-Chair
* George Miller (CA-7, Richmond) - Chairman, House Education and Labor Committee
* Barbara Lee (CA-9, Oakland) - Chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus
* Pete Stark (CA-13, Fremont)
* Michael Honda (CA-15, San Jose)
* Sam Farr (CA-17, Monterey)
* Henry Waxman (CA-30, Los Angeles) - Chairman, House Energy and Commerce Committee
* Xavier Becerra (CA-31, Los Angeles)
* Judy Chu (CA-32, El Monte)
* Diane Watson (CA-33, Los Angeles)
* Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34, Los Angeles)
* Maxine Waters (CA-35, Inglewood)
* Laura Richardson (CA-37, Long Beach)
* Linda Sanchez (CA-39, Lakewood)
* Bob Filner (CA-51, San Diego) - Chairman, House Veterans Affairs Committee
[edit] Colorado
* Jared Polis (CO-02, Boulder)
[edit] Connecticut
* Rosa DeLauro (CT-3, New Haven)
[edit] Florida
* Corrine Brown (FL-3, Jacksonville)
* Alan Grayson (FL-8, Orlando)
* Robert Wexler (FL-19, Boca Raton)
* Alcee Hastings (FL-23, Fort Lauderdale)
[edit] Georgia
* Hank Johnson (GA-4, Lithonia)
* John Lewis (GA-5, Atlanta)
[edit] Hawaii
* Neil Abercrombie (HI-1, Honolulu)
* Mazie Hirono (HI-2, Honolulu)
[edit] Illinois
* Bobby Rush (IL-1, Chicago)
* Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-2, Chicago Heights)
* Luis Gutierrez (IL-4, Chicago)
* Danny Davis (IL-7, Chicago)
* Jan Schakowsky (IL-9, Chicago)
* Phil Hare (IL-17, Rock Island)
[edit] Indiana
* André Carson (IN-7, Indianapolis)
[edit] Iowa
* Dave Loebsack (IA-2, Cedar Rapids)
[edit] Maine
* Chellie Pingree (ME-1, North Haven)
[edit] Maryland
* Donna Edwards (MD-4, Fort Washington)
* Elijah Cummings (MD-7, Baltimore)
[edit] Massachusetts
* John Olver (MA-1, Amherst)
* Jim McGovern (MA-3, Worcester)
* Barney Frank (MA-4, Newton) - Chairman, House Financial Services Committee
* John Tierney (MA-6, Salem)
* Ed Markey (MA-7, Malden)
* Mike Capuano (MA-8, Boston)
[edit] Michigan
* Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI-13, Detroit)
* John Conyers (MI-14, Detroit) - Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
[edit] Minnesota
* Keith Ellison (MN-5, Minneapolis)
[edit] Mississippi
* Bennie Thompson (MS-2, Bolton) - Chairman, House Homeland Security Committee
[edit] Missouri
* William Lacy Clay, Jr. (MO-1, St. Louis)
* Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5, Kansas City)
[edit] New Jersey
* Frank Pallone (NJ-06)
* Donald Payne (NJ-10, Newark)
[edit] New Mexico
* Ben R. Luján (NM-3, Santa Fe)
[edit] New York
* Jerry Nadler (NY-8, Manhattan)
* Yvette Clarke (NY-11, Brooklyn)
* Nydia Velazquez (NY-12, Brooklyn) - Chairwoman, House Small Business Committee
* Carolyn Maloney (NY-14, Manhattan)
* Charles Rangel (NY-15, Harlem) - Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
* Jose Serrano (NY-16, Bronx)
* John Hall (NY-19, Dover Plains)
* Maurice Hinchey (NY-22, Saugerties)
* Louise Slaughter (NY-28, Rochester) - Chairwoman, House Rules Committee
* Eric Massa (NY-29, Corning)
[edit] North Carolina
* Mel Watt (NC-12, Charlotte)
[edit] Ohio
* Marcy Kaptur (OH-9, Toledo)
* Dennis Kucinich (OH-10, Cleveland)
* Marcia Fudge (OH-11, Warrensville Heights)
[edit] Oregon
* Earl Blumenauer (OR-3, Portland)
* Peter DeFazio (OR-4, Eugene)
[edit] Pennsylvania
* Bob Brady (PA-1, Philadelphia) - Chairman, House Administration Committee
* Chaka Fattah (PA-2, Philadelphia)
[edit] Tennessee
* Steve Cohen (TN-9, Memphis)
[edit] Texas
* Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18, Houston)
* Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30, Dallas)
[edit] Virginia
* Jim Moran (VA-8, Alexandria)
[edit] Vermont
* Peter Welch (VT-At Large)
[edit] Washington
* Jim McDermott (WA-7, Seattle)
[edit] Wisconsin
* Tammy Baldwin (WI-2, Madison)
* Gwen Moore (WI-4, Milwaukee)
[edit] Non-voting
* Donna M. Christensen (Virgin Islands)
* Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)
[edit] Senate member
* Bernie Sanders (Vermont)
[edit] Former members
* Sherrod Brown (OH-13) - Elected to Senate
* Julia Carson (IN-07) - Died in December 2007
* Lane Evans (IL-17) - Retired from Congress
* Cynthia McKinney (GA-4) - Lost Congressional seat to current caucus member Hank Johnson
* Major Owens (NY-11) - Retired from Congress
* Nancy Pelosi (CA-8) - Left Caucus when Elected House Minority Leader
* Hilda Solis (CA-32) - Became Secretary of Labor in 2009
* Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH-11) - Died in 2008
* Tom Udall (NM Senate)
* Paul Wellstone (MN Senate) - Died in plane crash in 2002
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) was established in 1991 by five members of the United States House of Representatives: Representatives Ron Dellums (D-CA), Lane Evans (D-IL), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Then-Representative Bernie Sanders was the convener and first. The founding members were concerned about the economic hardship imposed by the deepening recession, the growing inequality brought about by the timidity of the Democratic Party response at the time.
Additional House representatives joined soon, including Major Owens (D-NY), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), David Bonior (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Patsy Mink (D-HI), George Miller (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), John Olver (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
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