Senate Democrats are "warning" House Republicans not to try to repeal Obamacare.The 112th Congress doesn't begin until Wednesday, but Senate Democrats are already vowing to block any attempts by the new GOP-led House to repeal the healthcare reform law.
The Senate's top Democrats, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), wrote incoming House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Monday warning the new GOP House against advancing legislation that would undo the sweeping healthcare overhaul.
Despite the scary warnings, it appears the House will move this week to repeal one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation in decades.
CNN has learned that Republicans plan to try to repeal the health care law almost immediately after taking control of the House, setting the stage for an early confrontation with President Obama.
House GOP sources tell CNN that they will unveil repeal legislation Monday night, even before they claim the majority Wednesday. Then, on Friday, Republicans will hold a critical procedural vote – the first step towards passing the repeal. A final House vote will likely take place next Wednesday.
William Jacobson has precisely the right idea.
[That's] certainly no reason not to pass legislation in the House.
There are several vulnerable Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2012. Make them vote on repeal of Obamacare as an entirety, and in pieces...
And then run the advertisements early and often.
This ought to be very, very entertaining.
Hat tip: Memeorandum.
You might have also missed the part in Schoolhouse Rock where a bill needs to pass through BOTH the House and the Senat AND be signed by the President to become law. Like it or not, the Senate and the Presidency belong to the Democrats for the next two years, so any threatened repeal is just bluster with no actual chance of becoming law.
ReplyDeleteIt continues to get every Dem and RINO on record. That's all we really want. Clarity for 2012. If you're not actually on the public dole, would you re-elect someone who votes against this bill?
ReplyDeleteIt won't even come to a vote in the Senate, so you won't get anyone "on record." The Democrats have all of the committee chairs, the Senate version of the bill will get tabled in committee and that will be the end of it. That's what happens when you rely on Schoolhouse Rock instead of actually paying attention to parliamentary procedure.
ReplyDeleteBy the time there is any chance of repealing this bill (GOP majority in House, GOP super-majority in Sen, and GOP Pres) the somewhat overhyped complaints will have been tempered by the benefits that people will see (no more denial for pre-existing conditions, etc.)
At best, the GOP should pick a battle that they could actually win here and focus on getting a significant malpractice tort reform bill passed. That could actually happen, unlike a repeal of the health care reform law.
The best chance that exists for this law to be repealed is in the courts, but it seems strange to see a party that complains about activist judges asking the courts to take such an active role in shaping such an important policy.
Schoolhouse Rock is actually woefully inaccurate about the lawmaking process, so much so that for discussions like this it's essentially completely wrong. To start with, there are things called "joint committees".
ReplyDeleteSince your ineptitude in finding out information for yourself, might possibly compliment your lying, allow me to help you out.
ReplyDeletehttp://lmgtfy.com/?q=joint+committees
Don't you owe Matt Gertz $1400? You should probably pay him before writing any more articles.
ReplyDeleteMemo for "Anonymous":
ReplyDeleteWhy should we pay any attention to comments made by someone who can't, or won't, even post them under a proper handle?
Hmmmmmmm?
Repeal, my ass. Ain't gonna happen, the majority of Americans don't want it to happen and the GOP is nothing but a slew of dysfunctional dickheads ready to be split in two by a gaggle of teabaggers. Bronzer Boehner can cry his ass off for the next two years while getting nothing done. Bet you didn't see THAT on Schoolhouse Rock, either!
ReplyDeleteAs Bob Herbert points out:
ReplyDeleteThere’s a reason the G.O.P. reveres Ronald Reagan and it’s not because of his fiscal probity. As Garry Wills wrote in “Reagan’s America”:
“Reagan nearly tripled the deficit in his eight years, and never made a realistic proposal for cutting it. As the biographer Lou Cannon noted, it was unfair for critics to say that Reagan was trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, since ‘he never seriously attempted to balance the budget at all.’ ”
We’ll see and hear a lot of populist foolishness from the Republicans as 2011 and 2012 unfold, but their underlying motivation is always the same. They are about making the rich richer. Thus it was not at all surprising to read on Politico that the new head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton of Michigan, had hired a former big-time lobbyist for the hospital and pharmaceuticals industries to oversee health care issues.
I remember President Bush going on television in September 2008, looking almost dazed as he said to the American people, “Our entire economy is in danger.”
Have we forgotten already who put us in such grave peril? Republicans benefit from the fact that memories are short and statutes of limitations shorter. It was the Republican leader in the House, Tom DeLay, who insisted against all reason and all the evidence of history that “nothing is more important in the face of war than cutting taxes.”
But that’s all water under the bridge. The Republicans are back in control of the House, ready to run interference for the rich as recklessly and belligerently as ever.
Oh I certainly agree with those posting about proper Tricameral Parliamentary Procedure however as one poster articulated, those that don’t vote repeal will be indentified to America and you can bet whatever you still possess that America will be watching, with great anticipation I might add. Our Democratic Bastian wants no part of this particular healthcare and we are watching and I would have to surmise that Republicans’ are too.
ReplyDelete10:05 AM, Anonymous "repeal my ass". Wagers?
ReplyDeleteThe latest Rasmussen Poll, out this morning, said that 60% of Americans support the repeal of obamacare. Democrats have yet to grasp the fact that they had their asses handed to them on Nov. 2nd. There are twenty three Democrat senators up for re-election in 2012. Having seen what happened in the mid-terms, do you think they will continue to march in lock step with their socialist-in-chief? The election was a complete rebuke of obama, his administration, the congress, and all that has been forced down our throats.
ReplyDeleteThe repeal will fail, but not for lack of trying by the Republicans. They, and the people, will eventually win in the courts.
Make fun of the "teabaggers" at your own peril. One thing to come from the election of this fraud, and all that he has done, is that they have put a clear face on the Democrat Party. In so doing they have awakened the sleeping giant. America is now awake, informed, and engaged. Heads will roll in 2012, Dems and Repubs alike. Moreover, it wasn't just the Tea Party who came out to vote in November. It was a little bit of everyone, from all parties, and all walks of life.
Blaming Bush for the last two years hasn’t worked either. Obama owns this economy. Excusing all that he has done because, “he’s doing everything he can” isn’t fooling anyone either. The silent majority is no longer silent. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and their ilk, will soon be marginalized and sent to the radical fringe. The same goes for the Republicans who go against the will of the people like obama has for the last two years.
The problem with the argument for repeal is this:
ReplyDelete1) There is a 0% chance of the healthcare reform bill being repealed before 2013 since neither the Senate nor President Obama would do so.
2) That means that people will have 2 years during which insurance companies are banned from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. People will be reluctant to give this up.
3) Mandatory health insurance, by far the least popular part of the reform bill, is essential if you ban insurance companies from denying those with pre-existing conditions. Otherwise people would avoid paying for insurance until they had some expensive condition.
The fact of the matter is that it is going to be nearly impossible to get voters behind a return to a system in which insurance companies have the ability to deny coverage the way they have.
If you want proof of this, look at how unwilling Congress has been to even think about eliminating Medicare Part D, even though the program is absurdly expensive.
It is worth noting that, while only 43% of Americans support the health care reform law, that's up from 40% in August.
ReplyDeleteIt should also be noted that according to many polls 1 in 4 of the people who do not support the health care reform law complain that it is "not liberal enough."
http://www.pollingreport.com/health.htm
Anonymous said...You suck
ReplyDeletethen Anonymous said...No, You suck
Conclusion: they both suck.
Can't wait for repeal. I just my hoist a few on that day, to my health.
It is a hard road to repeal but that isn't an excuse not to try. Republicans won big in the mid terms running on repeal so this is the logical move to make. Dems on here can gnash their teeth over this and gloat that it will not happen but no matter what the outcome this will be a political win for the GOP in the short run.
ReplyDeletesTevo: wow--you're DUMB!
ReplyDelete