Excerpt of the Day: On Health Care, There’s Nothing There (Also See Driehaus Update)
Even so, the legislation remained incomplete. House Democrats caucused Monday evening, and a number of rank-and-file lawmakers straggled out discouraged that they still didn’t have final legislative language or a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
Leaders hope to get both those things Tuesday. Until then there’s only so much they can do to pin down wavering lawmakers who will soon be asked to make one of the riskiest votes of their careers.
“There’s no decision yet on what the process is going to be, there’s nothing back from the CBO, there’s no commitment yet from the Senate that they can get 51 votes, and there’s no bill to show me what it’s in it,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., a freshman who voted “yes” last year and has been targeted by Republicans. “So until those things get resolved I’m staying uncommitted.”
Pelosi is already on the record saying, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” In a sane world, that would be grounds for instant expulsion from office.
It would thus appear that the response from Pelosi and President Barack Obama behind closed doors to concerns such as those raised by Rep. Titus would be something along the lines of “Shut up and vote.”
This is what tyrants do.
The fact that the AP’s Erica Werner did NOT engage in any attempt at headcounting is probably the best indication that the assertions floating around that Democrats are short of the votes needed for passage — at least 16, if we’re to believe Michigan Congressman Stupak — are accurate. Related corroboration can be found here and here.
I hope that’s so. Those who prefer liberty to tyranny should take no chances.
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UPDATE: If Steve Driehaus is really a “no” and is really “unswayed,” why is Joe “Jobs is a three-letter word” Biden being so nice? And why did the oafs at Organizing For America (OFA) have him over for an agenda meeting a week ago?
The NRCC considers Driehaus a “no,” but on Sunday Jay Cost at RealClearPolitics wrote: “I’m going to add him to my list of Democrats who had supported the bill in November, but who have since suggested they might defect.”
Encouraging Driehaus to oppose ObamaCare remains paramount.
I fear an orchestrated “breakthrough” on abortion (which won’t really be there when we, ahem, “find out what’s in it”), which will in any event do nothing to change ObamaCare’s status as a moral clunker.
Biden wouldn’t be visiting and raising cash for Driehaus if he didn’t think they had a chance at securing his vote for Obama-care. Look for some slight modification that will provide cover for Dems who like to claim pro-life bonafides during election time. Once the crap sandwich is passed and signed into law they can fund whatever they want. They can say no abortion funding except for the health of the mother and then health gets expanded to means mental well-being which can mean just about anything.
For clarification, my above comment does not imply that I am calling all “pro-life” Dems disingenuous on issues of life. Bart Stupak by all accounts is sincere and I’m sure there are a couple more like him.
Comment by Largebill — March 16, 2010 @ 12:24 pm