Posted on 03/19/2010 8:31:13 PM PDT by Ravi
Leaders of the Pro-Choice Caucus, some 30 minutes after storming into Pelosi’s office, renewed that threat.
“This concurrent resolution which Congressman Stupak and several others have filed, from the position of the people who signed my letter back in November, is a non-starter,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a Pro-Choice Caucus co-chairwoman. “We compromised to the concept 'no federal funding for abortion,' which is current law -- we don't like that. And so if Mr. Stupak and a few members, along with the Republicans, decide to use this to take healthcare down, then that loss on healthcare coverage is going to be on their hands.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Stupak knows that full well. Didn’t I read somewhere today where he said the berst that might happen is he’d vote his conscious against the bill, but it would get passed anyway? (Because he’s a real lefty at heart.) Such a senate ‘fix’ that the senate never passed could give him the cover for just that outcome.
“Too many moving parts.”
Poor little nanzi pelozi...ohhhh...
Yeah, especially since it didn’t work last time. The baby-killers bit the bullet and voted “yes” on the bill after the Stupak amendment passed, thanks to the pubs.
Stupak would not be acting in his own interests if he lashed out at pubs for not supporting him. Besides, he’s not supporting pubs on the best reason for voting “no” on the bill.
As for your second question, they caved after Stupak’s amendment passed before, which was a bitch-slap to us.
In short, this is a smokescreen cover for Stupak's "Aye" vote on HR 3590/reconciliation.
All of that effect happens within the confines of H.Con.Res. "Stupak." This is a stand-alone bill that instructs the clerk of the House to change the enrolled bill, with the enrolled bill being what is signed by Congress and sent to the president. HR 3590 ("the senate bill") doesn't go back to the Senate. If passed by the Senate, it acts like an amendment to HR 3590 - but technically, it isn't called an amendment.
That's why Stupak is saying that the Senate must pass H.Con.Res. "Stupak" before he will agree to "deemed pass" of HR 3590.
I don't think the Senate would approve of H.Con.Res. "Stupak," and it's possible that the GOP could prevent it from being taken up at all.
It only takes 51 votes to pass most anything in the Senate. The 60 vote "minority veto power" exists as an artifact of abusing the parliamentary tool of cloture. Final passage (except treaties, impeachment trial, etc.) is a simple majority of the members present.
I believe that H.Con.Res. "Stupak" would have to make it through the minority veto gauntlet before it could pass on simple majority. This is because the step of taking it up is debatable, and passage is debatable. And the only way to circumvent the privilege of unlimited debate is through cloture.
I see the Slaughter Rule as "deeming passed" something they do not agree with. In the past, what was deemed passed was something that a majority favored.
In other words, it's not the gravity or magnitude of the issue (increasing the debt limit by a couple trillion dollars is a big deal), it's the difference between "agreement" and "disagreement." They are "deeming passed," something they would reject.
But I wonder just how serious the Pro-choice and Progressive caucuses are about voting NO on the health care bill?
The issue of govt-controlled health care (for the Dems) seems to be as big of an issue.
If Stupak’s pro-life language is kept in the bill, I wonder how many of the Pro-Choice and Progressive members will bite the bullet and vote for the final bill?
All
By attempting this maneuver, isn't the House, in essence, giving the Senate more say in the legislative process than the House has? Taken to the limit, ANY Senate bill that comes to the House for reconciliation could just be Demon Passed by attaching an amendment that would receive a majority in the House. And whether or not the amendment passes the Senate is not necessary to the Demon Passed law being enacted.
I can just see Dingy Harry chortling gleefully about the way he has just rolled Madame P. What bargaining power does Madame have any more with the Senate? She doesn't like a Senate bill, Dingy Harry can just say tough, Demon Pass it and we'll consider your amendments (fingers crossed behind his back).
I'm astonished that Madame and other power hungry and self important Democrats in the House aren't concerned about giving the Senate this sort of power.
I guess because of the filibuster rule, Demon Pass could not be done in reverse (i.e. the Senate Demon Pass a House bill). I wonder if they're going to try something like this in the Senate with Cap and Tax.
And if they get away with this maneuver now, there's no doubt they will use it for Shamnesty which will most likely pass the Senate because there is GOP support (the Maine twins and Graham at least), but the Senate version of shamnesty could probably not pass the House on an up and down vote.
At some point, reasonable House Democrats (if there are any!), have to way whoa, we're giving all our power to the Senate.
Stupak is testing the waters, for sure. How badly do they want health care reform enacted? Badly enough to strike the federal abortion funding? Both sides on this issue will have to answer to groups to which they are beholden. Both pro-life and pro-choice groups are very vocal and have a lot of money.
That's one way to look at it. Another is view it as a minority of the House asserting that it speaks for a majority of the House.
If the Senate didn't use "filibuster," the whole process would become transparent.
GOP is voting NO on all healthcare “fixit” attempts, including those that strip out abortion funding. Pelosi knows this. The GOP is prepared and willing to explain to America that such a vote “for abortion” has to do only with KILL THE BILL, not abortion. If Pelosi thought that would hurt the GOP she would alrady have brought up such a vote.
ALL language in this monstrosity is SOLELY the property of Dems.
They are taking a separate vote on the Senate bill and voting on the amendments first. Reportedly, there are as many as 105 of them. They’ve apparently given up on the Slaughter “deem and pass” idea, although I wonder if they won’t try reviving it if they lose the rollcall.
I’ve been working the phones all evening. Please call Sunday. This is not over yet. Remember how many times theyv’e told us they had the votes. They haven’t. Most counts say tehy still don’t. Remember how often tehy told us they had the votes to pass amnesty a couple of years ago, only to see it fail. We can win this.
Dick Morris is one who has a list of the swing members to call. Get to as many as you can.
http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/
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