The GOP Has a Nuclear Option ...

Political Wire ^ | March 24, 2017 | Taegan Goddard

[Yosemitest]

Rick Klein and Shushannah Walsh:
“Want to really blow up the Senate – and fast?
A new proposal is emerging that would likely do just that, and it has nothing to do with Senate Democrats’ vow to filibuster Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
A proposal is being pushed by some Senate Republicans that would seek to ensure that a House-passed bill could be passed intact by only a simple majority of senators.”

“How would that work?
Well, the vice president, of course, is the president of the Senate.
The thinking goes
that if the Senate parliamentarian ruled that parts of the bill can’t be folded into budget reconciliation, Vice President Mike Pence could simply overrule that.
Sen. Rand Paul wants the White House to make that commitment now:
‘That alone, I think, would break the logjam,’ he told reporters Thursday.
Perhaps, but that’s not all it would break.
This would be the executive branch’s changing the rules of the upper legislative body.
Filibusters could be broken, perhaps in any circumstance, at the whim of the vice president.
In honor of a certain former veep, that would be a BFD.”

[Yosemitest]

Here's more from an excerpt from another source about the option of "The Nuclear Option for Legislation in the Senate":

Cruz Pushes Obamacare Repeal Gambit That Could Roil the Senate

... Cruz’s answer:
lean on Vice President Mike Pence’s gavel to dodge those procedural limits and broaden the legislation’s scope.

It’s not at all clear whether Cruz’s colleagues will go along.
The move relies on a radical interpretation of the vice president’s constitutional role as presiding officer of the Senate,
where he could step in and effectively overrule the chamber’s parliamentarian.
It would resemble the so-called nuclear option of ending filibusters ...

... Representative Dave Brat of Virginia, the conservative who unseated then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a 2014 primary, told reporters he doesn’t buy leadership’s excuse that they can’t pursue a far bolder plan.

He said Ryan is overstating the case that existing rules can’t allow an insurance overhaul. “He wants to be respectful of Senate rules, I do not,” Brat said.

“From what I understand,” Brat said, “whoever’s sitting in the chair has authority over the parliamentarian.
So they can rewrite the rules.”

To speed passage of an Obamacare replacement -- and circumvent Democratic opposition, Republicans opted for a budgetary procedure called reconciliation
that requires only a simple majority in the Senate,
but only if the legislation has minimal effect on the deficit.

GOP leaders, including Ryan, have said this is limiting their ability to include provisions popular with conservatives like selling insurance across state lines.

The Texas senator, who had dinner with Trump this week, said Ryan and Senate GOP leaders are wrong.

“You don’t need to override the parliamentarian or get a new parliamentarian.
It is the vice president who rules,” he told reporters Thursday.

Having Pence rule against established norms for what is allowed in a reconciliation bill would undo decades of Senate tradition of deferring to the parliamentarian’s rulings.
It could also potentially allow both parties far wider latitude in the future to avoid a 60-vote threshold for all sorts of provisions that don’t directly impact spending or taxes.

Representative Trent Franks of Arizona, another conservative, said
trying to craft an Obamacare repeal bill to meet the Senate’s current interpretation of its rules is "untenable."

"... If you get the job done he looks a little differently on the other side," he said.

... "Under the Budget Act of 1974, which is what governs reconciliation, it is the presiding officer, the vice president of the United States, who rules what is permissible on reconciliation and what is not,” Cruz said.
“And that is a conversation I have been having with a number of my colleagues.” ...

So in ending the DemocRATS 'political war', let me end my comment by stating, "It's time to NUKE THE DemocRATS !"

[Diogenesis]

It is time to nuke Ryan. is it not?

[Road Warrior ‘04]

It is time to nuke Ryan. is it not?

Agreed! It's time to start with Ryan and move on to McConnell.

[nathanbedford]

The truth is that Ted Cruz in a personal meeting with Donald Trump in the White House made clear the possibilities of reforming Obamacare along conservative lines by employing reconciliation. The problem for Trump was that he has a different vision of national healthcare, he wants to keep all of the goodies of Obamacare, such as pre-existing conditions, yet provide reduced premiums, reduced partial pays, reduced contributions which is simply not arithmetically possible. This is how he campaigned but it is impossible as president to mathematically square that circle.

So Trump backed Ryancare and was humiliated along with Ryan. He alienated the base and betrayed weakness. He could have at least lived up to the expectations of the people who voted for him, the people who voted against him are very unlikely to be mollified with half measures like Ryan care.

If Trump had used reconciliation with respect to reforming Obama care, he might today be in better shape with respect to financing the wall. Unfortunately, reports coming from the AP and elsewhere indicate that he is following the same course with respect to funding the building of the wall as he did with respect to reforming Obamacare.

If he is unwilling to go to the wall (shameless pun intended) on either of the two major issues in his campaign, when will he?

At some point Trump has got to look like Ronald Reagan when he fired the FAA controllers. Trump must at some point risk a loss. I believe that if he suffers a defeat at the hands of Rinos and Democrats he will at least be credited with the effort but now those who supported him are already scrambling to rationalize yet another climbdown.

[outofsalt]

"He (they) could have at least lived up to the expectations of the people who voted for him (them)"

What a quaint notion...

[Petrosius]

What we have today is not a filibuster but the unconstitutional requirement for 60 votes to pass legislation. A true filibuster is holding the floor for constant debate while ALL OTHER BUSINESS STOPPED. Historically it was hard to keep up and was a rare thing. The Democrats are abusing the filibuster by requiring 60 votes on all legislation. It is time to eliminate it.

[Yosemitest]

"At some point Trump has got to look like Ronald Reagan when he fired the FAA controllers.
Trump must at some point risk a loss.
I believe that if he suffers a defeat at the hands of Rinos and Democrats
he will at least be credited with the effort
but now those who supported him are already scrambling to rationalize yet another climbdown."

Being a retired air traffic controller myself,
and one who was on duty in the control tower at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
and who watched all the aircraft the FAA sent to pick up one fourth of our controllers and fly them out with a 2 hour notice to 'pack a TDY bag and get on the plane'
to go to work in the FAAs TRACONS and Towers, I understand,
AND I AGREE !

BUT 'reconciliation' with the DemocRATS, who are 'at war' with TRUMP and the Republicans, ...
and with the RINOs and "ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICANS", who will 'torpedo' Trump any way they can, ... 'reconciliation' is IMPOSSIBLE !
'Reconciliation' was IMPOSSIBLE from the very start of the 2017 Congress.

[Yosemitest]

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE !

[spintreebob]

Trump ... has a different vision of national healthcare, he wants to keep all of the goodies of Obamacare

It is absurd to address the spending side aka keep all of the goodies until the cost side is addressed. No plan, not current ACA, nor Ryancare I, nor Ryancare II, nor pre-ACA nor any plan can work until the things driving up cost are addressed.

[Yosemitest]

Ryan should have been replaced, as well as McConnell, in January 2017.

[OrioleFan]

Perhaps the house could send over a bill containing a title page and 2000 pages of garbage written in invisible ink. When the Democraps say, “What’s this?”, the Republicans can respond, “You have to pass it to see what’s in it.”

[RummyChick]

He said Canada treats us unfairly on trade and is going to impose a 20 percent tax on lumber according to trey yingst.

Oh and when asked whether daca was illegal ...he said wait to see how many ms-13 criminals we deport.

[marktwain]

If Trump had used reconciliation with respect to reforming Obama care, he might today be in better shape with respect to financing the wall. Unfortunately, reports coming from the AP and elsewhere indicate that he is following the same course with respect to funding the building of the wall as he did with respect to reforming Obamacare.

---

Trump is not a dictator. He has to convince enough people to go along with what he wants to get done. Fortunately, he is very good at doing that.

He is learning, and I expect the next effort will be much better than what happened the first go around. That bill and pushing it did much to show who was supporting what, and why.

We will be finding out what is in the improved plan shortly.

[Ancesthntr]

“It is absurd to address the spending side aka keep all of the goodies until the cost side is addressed. No plan, not current ACA, nor Ryancare I, nor Ryancare II, nor pre-AC”

---

What everyone has to realize is that the costs of which you speak are not the cost of insurance. They are the cost of the underlying goods and services that make up our medical care system, and which the insurance is there to cover. It is the cost of these goods and services that is wildly out of control, with insurance merely following the trend. They are out of control because virtually the entire industry is massively in violation of our antitrust laws. In any other industry (except perhaps the airline industry), when two people are charged a different price for the exact same product or service, the federal government comes in and charges somebody with antitrust violations. Not so in the medical industry, resulting in the gigantic mess that we are in now. President Trump does not need to get Congressional approval to fix this problem. He merely has to tell Jeff sessions to prosecute a few dozen drug companies, hospitals, medical supply companies and doctors. Make an example of a few of them, and medical prices will come down considerably and quickly. There is no reason, for example, why an MRI costs $200 in Japan and several thousand dollars here in the United States. The reason for this is not that Japan is using inferior technology, but that Japan does not allow the owners of MRI machines to gouge it’s consumers. Similarly, there is no good reason why my daughter’s fairly routine knee surgery, combined with a simple 2 day hospital stay with no complications, cost $128,000. If you ask me, that hospital was no better than the mafia.

If President Trump were to order the Department of Justice to go after those players in the medical industry who are in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, Trump would not only largely solve this problem, he would also be one of the biggest heroes imaginable. After that, tinkering with how insurance is delivered and what is to be covered would be a relatively minor footnote.

[nathanbedford]

At some point Trump has got to look like Ronald Reagan when he fired the FAA controllers. Trump must at some point risk a loss. I believe that if he suffers a defeat at the hands of Rinos and Democrats he will at least be credited with the effort but now those who supported him are already scrambling to rationalize yet another climbdown.

[SoFloFreeper]

Exactly.

[DrDude]

Repubs should use any and all options available. Rats would do it in a heart beat. Don´t play fair. Nice guys finish last!

[FreedomNotSafety]

“In any other industry (except perhaps the airline industry), when two people are charged a different price for the exact same product or service, the federal government comes in and charges somebody with antitrust violations. “. The more likely scenario for anti-trust is charging the exact same prices. Differing prices show lack of collusion.

Prices are being driven by government regulation and policies. Deregulate healthcare and prices will drop. Anti-trust enforcement is just more government nonsense used in an attempt to fix prior government nonsense. It’s hard to find true monopoly pricing power in a free market.

I know the term free market infuriates many here on Free Republic.

[i_robot73]

>
“It is absurd to address the spending side aka keep all of the goodies until the cost side is addressed. No plan, not current ACA, nor Ryancare I, nor Ryancare II, nor pre-AC”
What everyone has to realize is that the costs of which you speak are not the cost of insurance. They are the cost of the underlying goods and services that make up our medical care system, and which the insurance is there to cover. It is the cost of these goods and services that is wildly out of control, with insurance merely following the trend. They are out of control because virtually the entire industry is massively in violation of our antitrust laws. In any other industry (except perhaps the airline industry), when two people are charged a different price for the exact same product or service, the federal government comes in and charges somebody with antitrust violations. Not so in the medical industry, resulting in the gigantic mess that we are in now. President Trump does not need to get Congressional approval to fix this problem. He merely has to tell Jeff sessions to prosecute a few dozen drug companies, hospitals, medical supply companies and doctors. Make an example of a few of them, and medical prices will come down considerably and quickly. There is no reason, for example, why an MRI costs $200 in Japan and several thousand dollars here in the United States. The reason for this is not that Japan is using inferior technology, but that Japan does not allow the owners of MRI machines to gouge it’s consumers. Similarly, there is no good reason why my daughter’s fairly routine knee surgery, combined with a simple 2 day hospital stay with no complications, cost $128,000. If you ask me, that hospital was no better than the mafia.

If President Trump were to order the Department of Justice to go after those players in the medical industry who are in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, Trump would not only largely solve this problem, he would also be one of the biggest heroes imaginable. After that, tinkering with how insurance is delivered and what is to be covered would be a relatively minor footnote.
>

Biggest problem is admitting there is a problem. Unfort., nobody has pointed out GOVT is that problem.

Anti-trust was touched upon, but the truth that no monopoly can exist w/o the assistance of govt is also true.

True, now. MRIs may only truly cost $200, but when 1st developed? The converse of the above is the iron fist of govt vs. competition, research and innovation, driving up the costs before even hitting the streets. Drugs that exist in Europe for 40yrs+ can’t be sold here, while trial lawyers make millions from those the FDA\etc. HAVE ‘approved’.

Lastly, with wanting to eat the cake too, “reforming Obamacare along conservative lines by employing reconciliation” is another fallacy. Sad. If that’s what ‘conservatism’ has come to (not Fascism when *we* do it), it’s no wonder the country is in the bind it is...

[Wuli]

They key is the Constitution left HOW the two houses of the legislature up to whatever rules and procedures the houses separately make for themselves. What is being discussed has zero to do with Constitutional law regarding the legislature, and is totally about “accepted traditions”.

If it is an accepted tradition that the presiding officer of the Senate, which happens to be the Vice President of the United States, CAN over rule the parliamentarian, opponents can squeal, but in fact no laws or rules would be “broken”, just “tradition” terribly offended.

I am a mugwump on the issue. One part of me would like the immediate result, and the other part sees how we could come to hate this breaking of the traditions, if and when the Dims had the White House and 50+% majorities in both houses.