All Reconciliation, ALL THE TIME!!!

[Rage Inc.]

I was watching NBC Nightly News, and was informed that Obama based his "Drill, Baby, Drill" decision at least in part to acquire the support of Sen. Lindsey Graham, that the South Carolinian might provide the "60th vote" for a cap-and-trade bill somewhere down the line.

Excuse me, but have we learned NOTHING from the 14-month battle over health care reform???

The GOP has made it positively CRYSTALLINE that it shall offer NO support for ANYTHING the President proposes!

Democrats, it is time to don our war paint, it is time to punt the rosy concept of "bipartisanship." WE HAVE THE MAJORITIES! WE HAVE THE WHITE HOUSE! FUCK THE REPUBLICANS LIKE THE WHORES THAT THEY ARE! I hereby call for 50%+1 in Congress to pass serious environmental legislation, EFFECTIVE financial reform, AND ANOTHER STIMULUS PACKAGE, the kind that President Obama's fellow Nobel laureate, Paul Krugman, has been advocating since November of 2008!

Extreme? Ooooh, yeah, you got that right! But does anyone here doubt that we live in extreme times, involving extreme threats to our democracy? Didn't think so!

Now is the time to communicate to our Congresspersons, Senators, and President that we expect and demand that they get down to business, OUR business, the NATION'S business, by respecting---and employing---the three R's:

Reconciliation, Reconciliation, RECONCILIATION!!!!!

[Ms. Toad]

1. Unfortunately, that only works if the Senate has already passed a bill.

It isn't a starting position. (Reconciliation, in the context of legislation, means reconciling the Senate bill with the House bill.)

[Statistical]

4. Not exactly correct.

Reconciliation is a seperate bill which is used to modify a previous bill that has BEEN SIGNED INTO LAW.

So the timeline of HCR was:
1) Senate passes Senate HCR bill - 60 votes.
2) House passes EXACT same bill (down to the commas and periods). - 219 votes.
3) President signs said bill
4) House passes a reconciliation bill to modify the Senate bill signed into law.
5) Senate modifies houses reconciliation bill and passes modified version.
6) Since version passing senate has been modified it goes back to house.
7) House passes the modified version from Senate.

[Ms. Toad]

6. You're right. I was thinking of confernence committees

which reconcile the differences between bills prior to enactment.

But the basic principle is the same - there has to be an initial bill passed by each house with all the associated rigamarole which - recently - includes being able to generate 60 senate vote for cloture.

[Statistical]

2. You are aware reconciliation requires an initial bill to act upon?

HCR passed in both houses (60 votes in Senate, 219 in the House) and was signed by the president.
It was THEN modified via a reconciliation which was passed (by simple majority) in both Houses.

So reconciliation (which is technically BUDGET reconciliation) requires something to modify which has to be initially passed via normal rules & procedures.

Also there are limits to what can be changed via reconciliation.

[Why Syzygy]

3. We're still falling for that pick up line?

It's for the REPUBLICANS! Nothing more than red herring.

[Rage Inc.]

5. Exactly!

The GOP used every goddamn twisted procedure to get its agenda passed! Time to match fire with fire!