Threatening “reconcilliation” to muscle Senate Republicans:
White House officials tell ABC News that in his remarks [today] President Obama will indicate a willingness to work with Republicans on some issue to get a health care reform bill passed but will suggest that if it is necessary, Democrats will use the controversial “reconciliation” rules requiring only 51 Senate votes to pass the “fix” to the Senate bill, as opposed to the 60 votes to stop a filibuster and proceed to a vote on a bill.
It won’t work. ObamaCare is, shall we say, “pining for the fjords.”
UPDATE 3:37 p.m. ET: Perhaps you saw Obama’s big speech on TV, repeating the doctors-in-lab-coats motif of last summer. Notice how he emphasized that this is urgent and must be done now:
So now is the time to make a decision about how to finally reform health care so that it works, not just for the insurance companies, but for America’s families and America’s businesses. . . .
Democrats and Republicans agree that this is a serious problem for America. And we agree that if we do nothing — if we throw up our hands and walk away — it’s a problem that will only grow worse . . .
I don’t see how another year of negotiations would help. . . .
I, therefore, ask leaders in both houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. . . .
The American people . . . are waiting for us to act. They are waiting for us to lead. . . .
Let’s get it done.
Why the haste? It’s the old high-pressure sales pitch — “Act Now! Don’t Delay!” — and as any experienced consumer knows, that’s usually a sign that somebody’s offering a bad deal.
The reasons for Obama’s hurry-up trick is simply because he knows that every time lawmakers go back to their districts, they hear more from their constituents — who, as polls clearly show, are opposed to ObamaCare. And the closer we get to Election Day, the more members of Congress are likely to listen to their own voters instead of listening to Obama (and the army of lobbyists pushing for his plan).
All Republicans have to do is hold the fort a few more weeks, and ObamaCare will collapse of its own weight — another “Epic Fail.”
Michelle Malkin has more. Also see commentary from Ruby Slippers, So It Goes in Shreveport and Dan Riehl.
