liberalcreek
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Senate Health Care Bill in Time for Christmas?
Senate Health Care Bill in Time for Christmas?
Senate Democrats are pitching last-minute holiday deals in an effort to reach a vote on the massive ObamaCare plan before their new Christmas Eve voting deadline. With Congress remaining in session so late, concerned citizens surely must be worried that congressmen won't be able to finish their shopping in time.
Even the public option is on clearance as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) signaled her willingness to see the Senate pass a bill without it. "It isn't just about health care. It's about a healthier America," Pelosi cooed. However, she is well aware that anything goes once the bill is in conference committee, so don't get your hopes up about defeating this monstrosity that easily.
The proposal to expand Medicare to people 55 and over died a quick death after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) announced he would not support the measure. Democrats angry with Lieberman's stance accused him of flip-flopping because, back in September, he did support expanding Medicare to people between 55 and 64 who were out of work or unable to obtain coverage. His idea, however, became moot when the Senate decided to offer subsidies to the uninsured to purchase insurance.
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) remains a wild card after the Senate shot down his amendment to restrict abortion funding in the bill. Nelson rejected the ensuing compromise. He certainly has other considerations, too, not the least of which is the attitude of his constituents. Nebraska is a solidly red state, and recent polling shows that only 20 percent of its citizens support ObamaCare. Nelson doesn't appear to share the Obama administration's sense of urgency, either. Asked during an interview whether he was concerned about his party's self-imposed deadline, he replied, "Are you talking about this Christmas or next Christmas?"
Of course, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) needs Nelson's support for the final package to avoid a filibuster, but any compromise he crafts to meet Nelson's demands to reduce or eliminate taxpayer-funded abortions risks driving away other liberal votes. There are reports that, in an effort to cow Nelson, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel threatened to axe Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base -- home to U.S. Strategic Command, the successor to Strategic Air Command, which is charged with command-and-control of the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal and employs more than 10,000 servicemen and federal employees.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says Reid is being so secretive with the bill, that only those called to Reid's office for a chat have even seen the current bill.
Still, many Democrats are willing to swallow the HarryCare pill because they see even watered-down legislation as the giant first step toward their goal of government-run health care. There's also a strong desire among Democrats to give the White House something, anything, to sign, so that Barack Obama can crow about it during his State of the Union address in January. Health care "reform" is, after all, his primary domestic policy initiative.
In a sense, Democrats are in too deep to pull out now. One Democrat strategist likened it to robbing a bank: "They're in the bank, they've got their guns out. They can run outside with no money, or they can stick it out, go through the gunfight, and get away with the money." Despite this Bonnie and Clyde strategy, let's hope and pray this holiday season that at least three or four Democrats (and a handful of RINOs) realize that all of the ensuing murder and mayhem is not really worth it.
On Cross-Examination
ObamaCare is facing more unlikely opponents every day, including former DNC chief Howard Dean, a medical doctor. "You're going to be forced to buy health insurance from a company that is going to take an average of 27 percent of your money," Dean said, "and there is no choice about that. If you don't buy that insurance you are going to get a fine."
And Dean wasn't done. "This bill I think is more likely to make the crisis worse than it is better because it's so expensive," he said. And as a result, he concluded, "[H]onestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill." He even penned an op-ed in The Washington Post expounding on his opposition.
Granted, Dean wants something even more leftist than what the Senate is grinding out, but sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
Basically, what the Demon-rats are saying is "If you filibuster, you miss Christmas. Since we don't really celebrate, it means nothing to us."
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12-20-2009 01:20 AM
