Slaughter Solution For Wavering Dems May Not Save Them (Clear explanation of the procedure)

Investors Business Daily ^ | March 17, 2010 | DAVID HOGBERG AND SEAN HIGGINS,

[fightinJAG]

House Democratic leaders gave fresh indications Wednesday that they will use a complex procedure dubbed the "Slaughter solution" that would effectively pass the health bill without members voting on it.

Skeptics suggest it will do little to keep Democrats from getting butchered in November.

Despite success in pressuring some prior no votes such as Reps. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and Dale Kildee, D-Mich., to back the bill, Democrats still find themselves short on the vote count.

The Slaughter solution was conceived as a way to win over wavering members by letting them side-step a direct vote on the bill.

House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., has proposed inserting the Senate health bill into the "rule" for a vote on related legislation.

By voting for that rule, House Democrats would "deem" the attached Senate bill to already be passed.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that there was "nothing unusual" about the deem-and-pass plan. "We'll vote for the Senate bill in the rule, and then we'll amend the Senate bill in the process," he said.

[fightinJAG]

However, I think if the House “amends the Senate bill in the process,” then the bill has to go back to the Senate to be re-voted on. The Senate Republicans have warned the House Rats that they will BLOCK any amendments to the Senate bill. IOW, don’t vote thinking you’ll get a “fix” later, ‘cuz you won’t.

Senate Republican strategery here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljg_pQi35cg

[gov_bean_ counter]

While they are at it can they “deem” me to have won the Georgia Lottery?

[FlingWingFlyer]

The cowardly ‘RAT bass turds are all afraid to vote for CommieCare and are looking for an easy way out. “Courage” my ***! DemocRATS are all born cowards and they stay that way until they die.

[Bernard]

It's not complex; the Democrats get to pretend that they are not voting for what they are voting for. They lie to themselves, and their supporters keep spreading the same lie. It's all like a Monty Phython skit, with a very serious and dangerous outcome.

Apparently, the ability to self-delude is a major requirement to be a Democrat.

[Kansas58]

Slaughter the Constitution.
Slaughter Democracy.
Slaughter the Health Care system.
Slaughter the Democrat Party
Slaughter America

Slaughter House 5

[csense]

We'll vote for the Senate bill in the rule, and then we'll amend the Senate bill in the process...

Oops, there goes plausible deniability, and with that, any chance that this rule will ever pass...

[stephenjohnbanker]

I hereby “deem” you must split it with me ;-)

[gov_bean_ counter]

Ah, deem it.

[jessduntno]

DEEM-o-crats...they don’t have the votes. Bammy never would have gone on Fox...they don’t have the votes.

They are done...they will not go to the option...they are beginning to be afraid...as they should.

DEEM-o-crats...I hate those bstrds for what they are doing to us.

[fightinJAG]

The Rats just aren’t used to dealing with smart people. They truly are clueless that the vast majority of Americans can understand their little inside-baseball fools’ errand.

The main interest I had in the article was wondering how in the world even THEY thought they could deny voting for the Senate bill.

To be honest, I still don’t get how they thought that.

[P8riot]

Deem on.

[fightinJAG]

When Obambi said “we need courage,” that almost made me PUKE. Courage? Really? The Deem-o-Rats can’t even vote out loud, in public for what they’re voting for and the President of the United States is doing Drama 101 with the word “courage”?

Now I think I’m going to puke again.

[ducdriver]

The traitors can then say they voted for it so they didn’t have to vote for it.

[Bernard]

When Obambi said “we need courage,”

And a brain, and a heart. And a catchy song to sing as we skip down the yellow brick road.

[fightinJAG]

This is sort of like signing up for expanded super-premium cable because you want the golf channel. When your wife says, “You said you weren’t going to watch golf this year, why did you sign up for the golf channel?” And you say, “I didn’t sign up for the golf channel, I just signed up for expanded cable.”

Like that.

[fightinJAG]

And we’re not in Kansas anymore, either.

[Oceander]

Somebody raised an interesting point on another thread here that I have not yet seen discussed. The Senate bill, which, obviously enough, originated in the Senate, contains a large number of tax increases, otherwise known colloquially as "revenue provisions." If the DEEM-ocrats do push through with the Slaughter Solution, then that bill will become law, without any substantive input from the House.

Article I, section 7, clause 1 of the Constitution provides that "[a]ll bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills."

A plain language reading of that provision of the Constitution would appear to make a cut-and-dry case for the argument that if the House passes the Senate bill untouched, in particular by using the odious Slaughter Solution, then that bill simply cannot become law because it is forbidden by the Constitution.

I would be interested in hearing anyone's thoughts on the point, and on the possible consequences of such a holding, or of a court editing out the revenue provisions and allowing the rest of the bill to stand as such. I would also reiterate that this interesting point was brought up by someone else (probably someone smarter than I) on another thread here. I will update with the poster's handle when I get a chance.

[Oceander]

To update my prior post, the member who brought up the question regarding whether the Senate bill can become a law inasmuch as it contains revenue raising provisions but did not originate in the House was Tarpon

[fightinJAG]

A thousand gnats eventually sting ... Easy way to send free postcards to Deemocrats http://tinyurl.com/yzxrr2w