House Democrats don't get caught up. Think this through.
Don't get caught in the Senate Democratic trick bag.
Remember this:
Do not mess with this bill.
That was the message Senate Democrats sent to their colleagues on the House side over the weekend, warning them not to make any significant changes to the health care package heading toward a vote in their chamber if they want the bill to survive past Christmas.
Remember that one?
Don't get caught up.
Caught up in what?
The promise of, "We will fix the bill later." Don't fall for that line. Why? Because the Senate Democrats, along with King Lieberman told the House that if the bill was altered that they would not vote for it.
So, if someone told you that, why would you believe that they will fix it later, like in the spring? Sorry, I would be highly SUSPECT. Why, again? Because you are asking congress to vote at two totally separate times, by the spring we don't know how the political environment will be. It could be much worse than this and makes many in congress hunker down NOT TO VOTE FOR SHIT DURING AN ELECTION YEAR. Nope, this is risky strategy.
Is it the fierce urgency of the Massachusetts results that is pushing this pandemonium? Is it the fear of having nothing to campaign on coming from the White House?
Look, in the TomP diary about the statement from Rep. James Clyburn calling out the Senate is correct. They DO think they can dictate anything and they DID feel they had the upper hand in this and now they DON'T.
This is what the senate is asking the house to do in passing this bill as is:
* Pass this bill with the atrocious
excise tax
* Pass this bill forcing Americans to buy health insurance
* Pass this bill with no working public option function
* Pass the bill with the corrupt
Nelson and
Landrieu deals
The four things above is a November gift to the Republicans.
How?
The Republicans will run on how this bill will tax your health care plan. It does tax health care plans, the known Cadillac plans. Many unions have these plans, which are middle class voters, expect anger. Look what happened to the public option and health care reform from the summer? Look at the great messaging from that one? It was so bad that President Obama had to have a second Joint Session of Congress just to clear up all the lies that was stated all summer long about the health care bill. We never fully recovered from that.
The Republicans will run ads on how the government is making you purchase health care insurance. The mandate alone is not popular among Americans. This is the biggest gift to a corrupt industry, over 50M new customers, mandated customers at that. And let's talk about what we are buying? Everyone talks about the pre-existing condition being removed, I am for it, but do you honestly think that these crooked insurance companies will actually make it affordable for those with pre-existing conditions to purchase affordable health care coverage? If you belive that, I have a car dealership to sell you on Pluto. Of course, the industry will stricken pre-existing prejudice, to only replace it with insurance so expensive that the average American will not be able to afford it. If you don't believe it will happen, good luck.
No public option is a turn off to many Americans that understand this health care bill. From poll after poll, Democrats and Independents want the public option but this senate stricken language, or in other words, "it ain't in the bill", has many Americans just angry. Many ask why when this part of the bill was popular with the public. The public gets competition with insurance companies. Well, ask Max Baucus and his insurance lobbyists who wrote this bill, because this is the bill President Obama wanted, to cover the White House deals, especially the one with Big PhRMa. A turn off if you expect voters to come running to the polls for this.
The Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu deal should be a turn off to everyone. The Republicans can take this and run away with it in ads showing Democratic Leadership, "CORRUPT", and to be honest they won't be far from it. Yes, this coming from THEM.
The only way to save this bill is to reconcile it first, then vote for it, period. This is an election year and the Massachusetts outcome has scared many Democrats in D.C., whether you want to believe it or not. For many, this vote is controversial and it should not be. We wallowed, what, ten months on this and still no bill passed? This is Year 2010, not 2009 a big difference. For something that can be so simple, we are making it so hard. It is unfair to just shove a bill down the throats of the House and expect them to just vote on it. This is arrogance and brow beating at its worst. If we can't reconcile this, then forget it.
I understand the arguments about covering 30M people, and that is if this bill actually does this, a good point, but to just pass anything because this bill is supposed to be fixed later is a set up for disaster, especially for an election year. The fact is that his bill which is supposed to be President Obama's signature legislation piece has been hacked into a compromised, corporate piece of crap, as is. Asking the House of Representatives to just pass this bill without reconciling it first is a political nightmare.
Finally, it is rhetoric from Mary Landrieu that just makes you shake your head:
Landrieu took a shot at Pelosi on Sunday for saying that the House doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate bill.
"She should work it harder," the Louisiana senator said Friday.
That coming from Mary Landrieu who got her 300M corrupt deal for Louisiana in lieu of her vote. So, in other words she don't deal unless she gets a deal. PLEASE. Even though her state is one of the POOREST for health care in this country, she refused to vote unless she had a deal. What happened to doing it because it is the the right thing to do?