Republicans plot ways to block health reform in Senate

[sabra]

Source: Politico

Democrats might like to think that health care reform is all but a done deal if it clears the House, but the Senate is where Republicans have been plotting for months to sentence it to a painful procedural death.

Republican aides have been mining the Senate’s arcane parliamentary rules for an attack that aims at striking elements both broad and narrow from the bill, weakening the measure and ultimately defeating it. Their goal is to force changes that leave Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) without 51 votes to pass it, or at the very least, that drive it back to the House for a second vote that drags out the process and saps Democratic resolve.

But the first step in the Republicans’ game plan is making sure they never need to use the rest of it.

“Our initial goal is to stop the bill in the House,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). “Part of convincing House members to vote for the Senate bill is that it can be fixed by reconciliation, and I think that is a highly questionable proposition.”

It’s a pre-emptive strike meant to scare jittery House Democrats into withholding their support from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who needs 216 votes to pass the Senate bill and a companion measure that fixes unpopular elements of the bill. If she falls short, comprehensive health care reform dies.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34605.html

[Renew Deal]

1. The Senate bill still passes if it doesn't pass again in the Senate.

What does that mean? It means that the Senate is voting on the fixes only. So republicans will only be able to mess with the fixes, not the original bill.

[NJmaverick]

2. The sad thing is there are many DUers who are cheering them on

[icee]

4. To YOU that is a sad thing. It is not to those who have actually

READ the bill!

[nyy1998]

5. And you're still angry?

Disappointing, consider that there's still a lot of good in this bill.

[icee]

6. It is a gift to the insurance companies by the Democratic Party. A gift

that will significantly increase insurance premiums for middle-class people. It will cause many employers to drop or reduce coverage. It hurts the old. The only ones it helps are poor people. Watch what happens to drug prices. Hope you're not taking Flomax.

[NJmaverick]

7. "he only ones it helps are poor people"

There was a time when helping "poor people" was considered a good thing by liberals

[nyy1998]

14. Then re-read the CBO report

Premiums for many middle-class families will go down. Also, what's wrong with helping poor people?

[WriteDown]

8. Were you cheering Romney-care the first time it came out?

:shrug:

[nyy1998]

13. I would say this is stronger compared to Romneycare

According to Romney himself, he was boasting about how the Massachusetts doesn't have any cost-containment mechanism to stop Insurers from increasing premiums while atleast here the HHS secretary could over rule the insurance companies and stop them from unnecessarily stopping premiums increase.

[HopeHoops]

3. I KNOW! They can flush all of the toilets at the same time and BURST THE PLUMBING!

That'll fix those Democrats.

[AlbertCat]

10. They can flush all of the toilets at the same time and BURST THE PLUMBING!

Ha ha! :rofl:

Yeah... that "drive around in a circle and honk" thing didn't work so well, did it.

In Pep School, we used to stick a wire in one of the electric sockets in the History Dept, and all the lights in the Detention Study Hall would go out. Maybe that would work for the GOP. That building is pretty old and has funky wiring I bet!

[AlbertCat]

9. This is news?... and... Sunrise This Morning Will be in the East!

[Svafa]

11. HCR doesn't help poor people,

it hurts them by mandating that they buy insurance they can't afford. The only people this bill helps are the insurance companies!

[glinda]

12. middle and lower middle class that buy their own might get reamed more but I hope

not, as we have charged all we can on our charge cards to pay for my health insurance right now. This month may be the last one we can manage to scrape money for.