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| Obamacare still may not be inevitable |
| 2009-12-21 |
| Rich Lowry & Robert Costa, National Review Harry Reid got his 60. Ben Nelson resorted to the typical Washington expedient in such situations and bought into a few window-dressing compromises, in exchange for an enormous Medicaid benefit to his state. The Cornhusker Kickback joins the Louisiana Purchase as the latest evidence that thereÂ’s nothing like a hundred million or so in federal dollars to alleviate a senatorÂ’s deeply held concerns about the substance of Obamacare. NelsonÂ’s sellout is a gigantic step toward the passage of the bill, but itÂ’s not over yet. Here are five obstacles that still stand between Reid-Pelosi and a White House signing ceremony: Go read the rest of it. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #6 Unless the Donks are going to pass this and then use it to claim that the republicans are going to take way all healthcare. They did it before - claiming that a 7-8% increase was a social-security slash which would force seniors to eat catfood, etc... It was a lie. The MSM knew and admitted it wasn't the truth - and then went and continued the claim. I can hear it now: "The republicans are going to take away your health insurance! The republicans are going to take away your health insurance! YOU ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!" With the MSM harping this from the rooftops for 6 months |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-12-21 21:19 |
| #5 God help the country and God help us all. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-12-21 19:23 |
| #4 1) Public revulsion doesn't seem to be slowing the Democrats down any. The timeline is exactly what Reid wanted. 2) The Stupak dozen don't matter. The House vote was 220 in favor because Pelosi let some of her votes go 'no' to save them. But she can get them back if she needs them. 3) Payment will get resolved in the way Landreau and Nelson were taken care of -- the unions will get an exemption and the rich will be told to suck it up. 4) Blue Dogs are going to take the hit. Pelosi and Axelrod think they can save their majority by ramming this through and then spending the next year hand-waving and blaming everything that is bad on George Bush. Why not -- it's worked since 2006. But there are a lot of liberal Dems who would be happy to pass the health care bill, take a 'temporary' hit in the House, and plan on winning in 2012. 5) The Left has nowhere to go. They could sit on their hands like libertarian-Repubs did in '06 and '08 (how'd that work out for you, Bill Quick?) but generally they're smarter about those sorts of things. And regardless, ACORN and the SEIU will be rustling every vote they possibly can. So the Dems can reasonably count on little defection from the Left. Unfortunately this sucker is going to get through. God help us all. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-12-21 12:46 |
| #3 "The unions hate the Cadillac tax, since they enjoy such plans themselves, the fruit of collective bargaining. If the House gives in, it will create even more unrest on the Left." The Left will not hold up this Bill but their votes will come at a price. Unions are their meal ticket. Look for “Card Check” and “Immigration Reform” to percolate to the top of the legislative docket early next year in the House. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2009-12-21 12:37 |
| #2 Cheery, not sheery, Sheesh! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2009-12-21 12:16 |
| #1 Well, that was sheery, and the really good news is that all the cheer is bad news for progressives! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2009-12-21 12:09 |