By now you’ve all heard that Sen. Ben Nelson did what we all thought he would, he gave up his principles in exchange for a few favors for his constituents. . . the nation’s insurers. This means the rump-Baucus bill will pass the Senate. What does this mean? What happens next? Read on. . .
1. You’ve been tricked by your Senators.
The first thing to realize (and I hope the lousy people of Nebraska and Louisiana and the Democratic parts of Florida are listening) is that the Baucus bill and all of your ill-gotten gains and privileges are now likely worthless. Your Senators have played you for suckers.
How can I say this? Because there are at least 51 Senators who will vote for the final product even if it includes a nuclear strike on your home state. That means the Senate is now irrelevant. . . it will pass whatever comes out of the conference committee, no matter how much your Senator whines that it’s not fair.
The future of your special favors now rests in the hands of the liberal Democrats in the House. That means a likely return of the public option -- and Joe Lieberman can do nothing about it. That also means they can strip out the benefits for which Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu and Bill Nelson all sold their souls. That means they can ram through funding for abortion, coverage for illegal aliens, and taxes on you and yours. . . and there’s not a damn thing your Senator can do about it.
But they knew that. So when your Senate creature comes back to its home state on bended knee and it tells you through crocodile-tear-stained eyes that it thought it had a deal in place to protect you. . . don’t believe it. It’s lying.
2. What happens next?
What happens next is the bill goes to the conference committee made up of a group of Senators and a group of Representatives appointed by each chamber. They will argue over the final shape of the bill. They usually cannot add anything not already included in either the House or the Senate version (though this can be waived), but that’s not really relevant in this instance as the two bills together already cover everything the liberals in either chamber want.
In other words, even though the Senate stripped out the public option, the House included one. . . thus, the conference committee can put it back into the final bill, and Joe Lieberman can whine about being misled by Harry Reid.
3. Will the final bill pass?
Probably, but we’ll have to wait and see what format the bill ultimately takes. As I said above, don’t expect the Senate to do anything at this point except become a rubber stamp for the House. But the House hasn’t solved its own problems yet. The abortion people are furious on either side and finding a compromise that reconciles their polar opposite positions will be difficult. The immigrant groups are furious about the exclusion of illegal aliens. There is still anger, in both directions, about the inclusion/exclusion of the public option.
And the real winners right now are the insurance companies, which will upset House liberals to no end. Indeed, right now, insurers not only gained freedom from state regulation through this OPM plan, but 30 million more people will be forced to buy their products. Thank you Santa . . . or is it Satan?
In any event, this will be difficult to pass through the House. The House voted 220-215 to pass the bill originally. A loss of three additional votes would kill the bill. With Democrats talking openly about being willing to lose 20-40 seats to get this done, one has to wonder if more “moderate” Democrats won’t decide that their futures lie in opposing this bill? We’ll have to wait and see. . . just how suicidal are these Democrats?
4. What should the Republicans do now?
The Republicans have actually fought an extremely good fight on this. They deserve a ton of credit -- and let me add, the blame for not stopping this lies with the voters who thought they could trust the Democrats with a super-majority.
But now the game is changing. Any Republican who wants to lead the party in the future better start working language into their appearances about repealing this monster. That should become the leading issue in 2010 and 2012."Save HealthCare, Repeal PelosiCare"
Saturday, December 19, 2009
ObamaCare: All Bets Are Off. . .
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14 comments:
Andrew: Great summary of really bad (but not unexpected) news. Nelson has committed suicide in Nebraska, since his constituency is strongly opposed to health care "reform" in any of its current manifestations. His little bribe isn't going to fool Nebraskans. He'd better watch where those corncobs are aimed from here on out.
There's still hope that the left will cause the deal to fall apart in the House, but it's slim, given the Democrats' determination to give us the worst Christmas present in any of our lifetimes.
As you pointed out, they needed 60 votes in the Senate to pass this abomination, but now that's it's not an original bill, they only need a simple majority vote in the Senate to approve the House/Senate reconciliation. We're headed for disaster at full gallop.
As for your rhetorical question about "how suicidal are these Democrats?" I think the answer is "very." And they're like our friendly terrorist suicide bombers--they want to take the rest of us with them.
Lawhawk, I think the analogy to suicide bombers is a good one. I wonder how many "moderate" Democrats have given that one any thought?
I wonder just how many "moderate" Democrats are actually moderate, and I have suspected for some time now that number is fewer (if any) than is being make known. This article reaffirms why I am a conservative first and foremost over party affiliation.
I just sent out the last of my Merry Christmas - this is how the cow ate the cabbage - cards. And just for an extra jab I sent another one to Nelson, Landreu, Collins, Lieberman, Snowe, and the usual heavy hitters.
I also decorated the outside of the envelopes with:
Obama-Reid-Pelosicare IS A Killer!
Vote "No" on Healthcare "We The People" don't want it.
Democrats are the 'status quo' that must go.
Congress 2010-12 YOU ARE FIRED!
Of course I wrote them with red and blue pens, just so it would stand out, and I did it on the front and backs of the envelopes.
I figured at least it might give some postal employees and mail clerks a laugh with possible thought about these jokers in DC.
They have given Republicans a lot - a really really really lot - to drive home come election time. Time to rally all troops, and come up with a national battle-cry and battle plan. I am anxiously awaiting to see whom is going to take the lead....any guesses?!
DCAlleyKat, I'm glad you sent out the Christmas Card! Fantastic!
I suspect there are fewer moderates than people think. And those that are there seem more than willing to give up their moderate views whenever the party demands it.
This is actually the moment they should be standing up to Pelosi and looking to chart a new course for the party, but that would require principle. . . something they are sorely missing.
You're right about the Democrats giving the Republicans a lot to work with. Fortunately, they are starting to get their sea legs, so to speak. For one thing, it's impressive that they've held party-line on so many votes. And I'm seeing that they are starting to take on a more aggressive style of attack. Good.
Even the usual suspects have stayed with the party this time.
In terms of who will be the candidate in 2012, it's a wide open field. More and more are joining the field each week -- though some are more/less serious than others. At some point, one of them needs to stand up and just take the reigns. That's how leadership works.
As much as we all dared hope this would not happen, we probably knew it would. I can only hope the blow back in the next two elections are enormous. It will be hard to repeal this bill once it is in place.
Jed, I agree. It was inevitable that they would get something. The question still remains what they get.
And hopefully, they will get blasted at the next election no matter what they do.
"Save HealthCare, Repeal PelosiCare"
genius. seriously. this is why you make the big bucks.
i find i have to take deep deep breathes before i turn on my computer monitor to see the state of affairs each day. my mantra of late: all, ALL, works for His purpose.
i choose to believe even in the face of defeat. the heart of this country, of the majority of its people, is bigger than they know or are willing to acknowledge. our moment is coming to repeal their damage.
11 months to go. hang on everyone, we can do this. yes, we can!
Patti, I think there is a much bigger reserve of Americanism than people think. I fully expect the people to wake up and harshly punish Pelosi and her leftist minions.
But we do need to be careful about choosing a leader. There are some out there right now trying to be the next President who are gutless, brainless and/or incompetent.
Andrew,
On the eve of the destruction of the United States of America, I wish to say that it has been glorious and exhilarating being a citizen of the most free country ever on Earth. There has been no other country that has the freedoms we have enjoyed. This is a sad proudsome moment.
What was our hubris? I couldn't tell you.
Joel, It is a horrible turn of events, but America is remarkably resilient and we'll overcome this.
I keep holding onto "It is darkest just before the dawn"...hopefully the dark could of tyranny this Congress has blanketed our nation with will be shattered with the 2010 election dawn of America's restoration revolution!
DCAlleyKat, I hope so. I'm seeing a lot of hopeful signs.
I'm just sick to my stomach. :(~
DC - I love the Christmas card idea - I'm going to write some, too!
For the little good it'll do, I sent e-mails to my Senators asking why MY state didn't get a nice juicy bribe to vote for this? Obviously, they're not doing their job from that perspective, either.
Crispy - asking why MY state didn't get a nice juicy bribe to vote for this?
Good question. And write it on the outside of the envelope, in bold, with a brightly colored pen!
It's what I call 'spreading the word' effect...
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