At least for today, it appears that the global epicenter of stupid is in Washington, DC, where they are buzzing manically about Speaker Pelosi's diabolical plan to pass health care reform without actually having a vote on the Senate health care bill.
The implication -- that the House will approve health reform without voting on it -- is utterly baseless as David Waldman detailed earlier today. There will be a vote on health care reform, and nobody is suggesting otherwise.
But, as David has explained before, the final vote in the House won't be a simple vote on the Senate health care bill. Instead, it will be a vote on a resolution which effectively passes and amends the Senate health care bill at the same time.
So why don't Democrats do it the FNC/RNC way and have the final vote be on the Senate bill?
Simple: because the Senate bill is not the final health care reform measure. And the House is working to structure its final vote to ensure that the Senate bill does not become law without being amended.
In so doing, the House is trying to do the responsible thing, eliminating any chance of the Senate bill passing without reconciliation fixes, thereby making sure that we end up with the best possible policy.
Sure, the House could trust the Senate to do the right thing. But if they can structure things to make sure the Senate does the right thing, why shouldn't they?
Obviously, it creates an opportunity for Republicans to attack, but anything Democrats do creates an opportunity for attack. More importantly, this isn't about politics. Everybody knows there will be a vote. No matter what, people will know who was for reform and who was against reform. The question is whether we'll end up with the best possible reform package, and the approach being worked on in the House is merely an effort to ensure that we do.