Today in Washington, D.C. - Mar 12, 2010 - Dems Plow Ahead On Health Care, Despite American's Objections, Parliamentary Ruling, Public Opinion & Funding Abortions
The Senate is in recess until Monday afternoon when it will take up the House message to accompany H.R. 2847, Democrats’ jobs bill. Monday evening, there will be a cloture vote on the motion to concur with the House amendments. However, the House Democrat leaders continues to to pressure House Democrats to set aside their House Bill and to pass the US Senate bill which would then go directly to the President for signature.
As one House staffer related today, "Seems like it’s always game time in Washington but with the health care bill in critical care, there are no holds barred.; President Obama is delaying his scheduled trip to Indonesia in order to focus on passing health care but what can he do in three days to force the bill through? That’s just it — FORCE the bill through. We know Americans doesn’t want this bill and it’s time again to for Americans to Let Your Voice Be Heard.
Today's networks are reporting that over the last 24 hours, the White House staff, President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have used relentless pressure and deals to seek to overcome the will of House Representatives who may vote no or have a desire to delay voting until after the upcoming recess. The White House gang knows that if the House recesses without a vote then the chances of passing a health care bill are greatly reduced after the Representatives go home and hear again from their constituents. After all, every positions for US. Representatives will be on the ballot in November 2010. Thus, the White House wants ObamaCare passed before the Nov 2010 elections and damn the results in the elections or the will of the American people.
However, there is still hope. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has said on prior occasions, "A minority in Congress plus the American people equals a majority." Please take a moment to watch the following video and then call your representative, tell your family and neighbor, send emails to your contacts, and if you blog, tweet or post comments on FaceBook. Help again to get the message out again to scrap these health care bill and start over!
Democrats ran into another obstacle on their quest to pass their massive health care reform bill yesterday, this time from the Senate Parliamentarian, yet just as they have with every other setback, Democrats seem determined to ignore it and charge ahead with a bill Americans have overwhelmingly rejected. The Hill reports today, “The Senate parliamentarian has delivered a blow to Democrats by ruling President Barack Obama must sign the broader Senate health care legislation before the upper chamber can take up changes demanded by the House. The ruling means House Democrats would have to rely on a good-faith promise that senators will pass the changes after the health care bill is signed into law, a difficult prospect at a time when lower-chamber lawmakers have grown distrustful of their Senate counterparts.”
Democrat Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad likely has the same view. According to Wednesday’s New York Times, “Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and chairman of the Budget Committee, said the reconciliation instructions in last year’s budget resolution seemed to require that Mr. Obama sign the Senate bill into law before it could be changed. ‘It’s very hard to see how you draft, and hard to see how you score, a reconciliation bill to another bill that has not yet been passed and become law,’ Mr. Conrad said.” The Hill reports that Conrad “told colleagues about the ruling Thursday afternoon, according to a Democratic source familiar with the meeting.”
Meanwhile, today’s New York Times reports, “House and Senate Democratic leaders struggled Thursday to stitch together pieces of a final health care bill as rank-and-file Democrats demanded more information about the contents of the bill and its cost. . . . ‘Everyone expressed frustration that we do not have comprehensive cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office,’ said Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia.” Critically, the NYT points out, “Democrats said they were nowhere near agreement on the explosive question of how to restrict insurance coverage of abortion under the health care bill.”
And yet despite all this, Politico reports, “The House Budget Committee will begin marking up the reconciliation bill on Monday, beginning the first step in the legislative process to pass reform.” Democrats continue to push this bill through backroom deals and arcane parliamentary maneuvers over the overwhelming opposition of the American public.
Polls show over and over that Americans do not want the bill Democrats are determined to jam through Congress. Even in a reliably blue state like New Jersey, a Republican was elected governor for the first time in many years last fall and now a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll of the state shows only 22% support passing the current health care bill. Sixty-eight percent say Congress should start over. On top of that, just yesterday President Obama reached a new low in Gallup’s daily tracking of his approval rating--46%. His previous low came right after Sen. Scott Brown was elected in Massachusetts.
In an op-ed for The Washington Post today, Democrat pollsters Pat Cadell and Doug Schoen lay out just how bad it could be if Democrats continue on this course. “Their blind persistence in the face of reality threatens to turn this political march of folly into an electoral rout in November. In the wake of the stinging loss in Massachusetts, there was a moment when the president and the Democratic leadership seemed to realize the reality of the health-care situation. Yet like some seductive siren of Greek mythology, the lure of health-care reform has arisen again.”
They add, “Nothing has been more disconcerting than to watch Democratic politicians and their media supporters deceive themselves into believing that the public favors the Democrats' current health-care plan. Yes, most Americans believe, as we do, that real health-care reform is needed. And yes, certain proposals in the plan are supported by the public. However, a solid majority of Americans opposes the massive health-reform plan. . . . The notion that once enactment is forced, the public will suddenly embrace health-care reform could not be further from the truth -- and is likely to become a rallying cry for disaffected Republicans, independents and, yes, Democrats.”
Americans have made it very clear on want Democrats should do: scrap this health care bill and start over. Yet apparently the increasingly difficult parliamentary gymnastics required, the difficulty in getting members of their own party to agree and support their bill, and the overwhelming opposition of the American public are not enough to make them stop and reconsider. But it’s not too late. There’s still a chance for responsible Democrats to step back from the edge. So let me repeat: Please take a moment to watch the following video and then call your representative, tell your family and neighbor, send emails to your contacts, and if you blog, tweet or post comments on FaceBook. Help again to get the message out again to scrap these health care bill and start over.
Tags: government healthcare, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
As one House staffer related today, "Seems like it’s always game time in Washington but with the health care bill in critical care, there are no holds barred.; President Obama is delaying his scheduled trip to Indonesia in order to focus on passing health care but what can he do in three days to force the bill through? That’s just it — FORCE the bill through. We know Americans doesn’t want this bill and it’s time again to for Americans to Let Your Voice Be Heard.
Today's networks are reporting that over the last 24 hours, the White House staff, President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have used relentless pressure and deals to seek to overcome the will of House Representatives who may vote no or have a desire to delay voting until after the upcoming recess. The White House gang knows that if the House recesses without a vote then the chances of passing a health care bill are greatly reduced after the Representatives go home and hear again from their constituents. After all, every positions for US. Representatives will be on the ballot in November 2010. Thus, the White House wants ObamaCare passed before the Nov 2010 elections and damn the results in the elections or the will of the American people.
However, there is still hope. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has said on prior occasions, "A minority in Congress plus the American people equals a majority." Please take a moment to watch the following video and then call your representative, tell your family and neighbor, send emails to your contacts, and if you blog, tweet or post comments on FaceBook. Help again to get the message out again to scrap these health care bill and start over!
Democrats ran into another obstacle on their quest to pass their massive health care reform bill yesterday, this time from the Senate Parliamentarian, yet just as they have with every other setback, Democrats seem determined to ignore it and charge ahead with a bill Americans have overwhelmingly rejected. The Hill reports today, “The Senate parliamentarian has delivered a blow to Democrats by ruling President Barack Obama must sign the broader Senate health care legislation before the upper chamber can take up changes demanded by the House. The ruling means House Democrats would have to rely on a good-faith promise that senators will pass the changes after the health care bill is signed into law, a difficult prospect at a time when lower-chamber lawmakers have grown distrustful of their Senate counterparts.”
Democrat Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad likely has the same view. According to Wednesday’s New York Times, “Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and chairman of the Budget Committee, said the reconciliation instructions in last year’s budget resolution seemed to require that Mr. Obama sign the Senate bill into law before it could be changed. ‘It’s very hard to see how you draft, and hard to see how you score, a reconciliation bill to another bill that has not yet been passed and become law,’ Mr. Conrad said.” The Hill reports that Conrad “told colleagues about the ruling Thursday afternoon, according to a Democratic source familiar with the meeting.”
Meanwhile, today’s New York Times reports, “House and Senate Democratic leaders struggled Thursday to stitch together pieces of a final health care bill as rank-and-file Democrats demanded more information about the contents of the bill and its cost. . . . ‘Everyone expressed frustration that we do not have comprehensive cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office,’ said Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia.” Critically, the NYT points out, “Democrats said they were nowhere near agreement on the explosive question of how to restrict insurance coverage of abortion under the health care bill.”
And yet despite all this, Politico reports, “The House Budget Committee will begin marking up the reconciliation bill on Monday, beginning the first step in the legislative process to pass reform.” Democrats continue to push this bill through backroom deals and arcane parliamentary maneuvers over the overwhelming opposition of the American public.
Polls show over and over that Americans do not want the bill Democrats are determined to jam through Congress. Even in a reliably blue state like New Jersey, a Republican was elected governor for the first time in many years last fall and now a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll of the state shows only 22% support passing the current health care bill. Sixty-eight percent say Congress should start over. On top of that, just yesterday President Obama reached a new low in Gallup’s daily tracking of his approval rating--46%. His previous low came right after Sen. Scott Brown was elected in Massachusetts.
In an op-ed for The Washington Post today, Democrat pollsters Pat Cadell and Doug Schoen lay out just how bad it could be if Democrats continue on this course. “Their blind persistence in the face of reality threatens to turn this political march of folly into an electoral rout in November. In the wake of the stinging loss in Massachusetts, there was a moment when the president and the Democratic leadership seemed to realize the reality of the health-care situation. Yet like some seductive siren of Greek mythology, the lure of health-care reform has arisen again.”
They add, “Nothing has been more disconcerting than to watch Democratic politicians and their media supporters deceive themselves into believing that the public favors the Democrats' current health-care plan. Yes, most Americans believe, as we do, that real health-care reform is needed. And yes, certain proposals in the plan are supported by the public. However, a solid majority of Americans opposes the massive health-reform plan. . . . The notion that once enactment is forced, the public will suddenly embrace health-care reform could not be further from the truth -- and is likely to become a rallying cry for disaffected Republicans, independents and, yes, Democrats.”
Americans have made it very clear on want Democrats should do: scrap this health care bill and start over. Yet apparently the increasingly difficult parliamentary gymnastics required, the difficulty in getting members of their own party to agree and support their bill, and the overwhelming opposition of the American public are not enough to make them stop and reconsider. But it’s not too late. There’s still a chance for responsible Democrats to step back from the edge. So let me repeat: Please take a moment to watch the following video and then call your representative, tell your family and neighbor, send emails to your contacts, and if you blog, tweet or post comments on FaceBook. Help again to get the message out again to scrap these health care bill and start over.
Tags: government healthcare, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 2:26 PM - Post Link
2 Comments:
The dems are quite determined to pass this bill. They seemed to be damned if they do and damned if they don't--so it full speed ahead. They realize full well that they will pay the price this fall and the center and right will abandon them. They hope by passing this they can at least generate support from their base. I'm linking to this article tomorrow.
Great article and video. I will cross posting tis and doing so later on tonight.
I do not think
Obama cares about the
long term health of our
country, nor do those
politicians who are voting
to pass such a horrible bill.
So Obama may be known,
his legacy may be that he
got this through, over and
on top of the backs of
the American people who
have resoundingly said NO.
Post a Comment
<< Home