The other day I exposed the fact that Harry Reid switched the languagein the House-passed H.R. 3590 Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009 and inserted the Senate version of the healthcare bill via a manager’s amendment in order to meet the requirement of all legislation raising taxes originate in the House.
The Senate passed the revised bill with the healthcare language in it, and now the House must revote on the deceptively gutted changed bill because, according to the Constitution, the identical bill must pass both the House and Senate in order to be signed into law. And, once the Senate Health Care bill passes the House, President Obama will sign it right away.
The threat of reconciliation in the Senate is hollow. There isn’t going to be any reconciliation.
On January 31, 2010, before the House was set to take up the Senate bill, WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” stated:
“If the House would take up the Senate bill then that bill would go to the president’s desk,” Gibbs said.
For further confirmation, here is the audio of that exchange. Listen from about 4:20 to 5.00 and you will here Gibbs confirm that once the House passes the Senate’s version of the healthcare bill, it’s a done deal. No talk of reconciliation here, because reconciliation is not needed at all.
Let me be clear, if the Senate healthcare bill passes the House, it goes to directly to the President for his signature. No reconciliation, no conference, no more negotiations, nothing. Why? Because they don’t have to; the healthcare takeover will be completed. There is no more incentive for the Senate to keep its promise to the House. And with this Congress the end definitely justifies the means.
The fact that Gibbs confirmed that Obama would sign the Senate version of healthcare bill as is should signal to Americans that he inherently doesn’t have any problems with it–even with all the bribes and abortion funding–as he has also been a huge supporter of this version.
There are still so many people talking about reconciliation. Reconciliation of the bills is not needed for the House to pass the Senate bill. All the talk of reconciliation is to convince wavering House Democrats will soon…we promise, we swear, cross our hearts…fix all the provisions that give House members fears of November.
Stupak and the pro-life Democrats are fooling themselves–especially Kildee–who is now a confirmed “yes” vote on healthcare due to his satisfaction on the abortion language.
Once the House approves the Senate bill, all the talk of reconciliation will evaporate. The Senate health care bill provides the foundation for a government takeover of health care. Do you really think Senate Democrats are going to prolong the health care debate for weeks on end to strip abortion funding from the bill? Again, I can’t be more clear: this is the Code Red alert for the final vote to pass healthcare.
Original post at Big Government
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
Reco'd!! And keep beating the drum, SusanAnne;
eburke (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 7:39PM EST (link)This whole “reconciliation” BS is the greatest legislative sleight-of-hand in the history of the US Congress. It is nothing more than an Allisnky-induced misdirection of epic proportions.
“All that need be done for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Unified Patriots
It's only sleight of hand to the truly stupid ones...
Conservative Phantom Wednesday, March 10th at 8:57PM EST (link)…while the others see it for what it is: a fig leaf.
Tired of commenting on other people’s topics? Consider a visit to the “It’s About Liberty” forum where you can start your own:
http://itsaboutliberty.com/
And be as politically incorrect as you damn well please.
Can this be stopped? Because I don't know if it can be undone.
jcincy Wednesday, March 10th at 9:08PM EST (link)Despite the anger and the uproar… will the House still pass this ‘bill’ bypassing the INTENT of the Constitution? Forget the Constitution, that’s no longer relevant.
If so, can it truly be undone? Will the GOP gain a majority in both houses? Will the GOP be able to convince enough Democrats to undo this legislation with a veto proof margin?
Quite frankly, this is 100% about the future of this nation. The Democrats may succeed in passing this bill. They don’t care about November. Once this massive expansion takes place, they will have won the final battle and the war.
The spineless GOP demonstrated that they lacked the will to even touch Social Security. (Except for President Bush).
Will the GOP if they ever have the majority attempt to undo this mess?
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” — John Jay
When the SCOTUS renders the individual mandate unconstitutional, what are the ramifications?
roscopico (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 11:37PM EST (link)Clearly the “individual mandate” is beyond the reach of Congress, but at that point I presume that only the pieces of that bill fall away. After all, the “I’m Joey Sixpack, and I approve this message” qualifiers presumably remain despite sections of McCain-Feingold rightly ruled unconstitutional.
I’m wondering what will be left standing when the “individual mandate” clauses are rejected?
Has anybody taken a look at this?
Im Himmel gibt’s kein Bier…
Kowalski - they know the individual mandate won't pass constitutional muster...
roscopico (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 12:24AM EST (link)It was stuck in for two (subtle) reasons;
1) mislead the CBO to commit involuntary fraud. If the CBO is forced to run numbers containing fines generated by those who do not toe the line of the insurance mandate, the balance sheet for Obamacare might be scored under the holy unicorn grail of $1T.
2) Mislead all rabid leftists that they might claim to friends and neighbors the pool of insured will be expanded with a large group of healthy people to defray the cost of the denture-recycling sick.
I’m sure there is more to it, but it seems they know that by spiking the bill they can make it worse. And they do indeed intend to make this the worst, most corrupt, most expensive legislation in history.
Im Himmel gibt’s kein Bier…
It won't because the Senate bill has no "mandate."
Menlo (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 12:32AM EST (link)If you read the bill, there is a section that explicitly prohibits the government from doing anything to anyone who does not pay the “penalty” for not having insurance.
“The ultimate touchstone of constitutionality is the Constitution itself and not what we have said about it.” -Felix Frankfurter
The individual mandate won't matter!
rickindenver Thursday, March 11th at 2:11PM EST (link)By the time it makes it’s way through the process the other dastardly provisions of the bill will have destroyed private insurance through costly mandates, taxation and regulation! Then Obama can ride in on his high horse and save us with a single payer system!
The Dems are not going to move a passed Health Care bill toward the center.
6eorge Jetson (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 10:00PM EST (link)And I’m going to have one beer only at the bar tonight.
Kildee's *not* a "confirmed" yes vote.
SoFiMil (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 10:30PM EST (link)This is what he said yesterday: “I think the Senate language keeps the purpose of the Hyde amendment. …I’ll probably vote for it.”
I hold absolutely no hope in Kildee flipping back to “no,” but I don’t think he should be put in the “slam dunk” yes category. That’s just not accurate quoting.
I wrote the above before finding the below. I’d say the same thing even without the below link.
In addition, National Review also had a link to this “clarification.”
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MjkyOGVlODJkNTM1YzkzOTdkZTMwMjI4MWY3YWM0Mjk=
http://www.catholicvoteaction.org/americanpapist/index.php?p=1893
www.suvstrategery.blogspot.com
Can ths be undone?
DerKrieger (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 10:36PM EST (link)YES!
And I’m getting a little irritated that no conservative blogs are covering the the 10th Amendment based nullification legislation passed by several states and in the works in several other states. Virginia is the most prominent state to pass legislation basically saying they wouldn’t allow Obamacare in VA. It was signed immediately by the new governor.
Although we need to continue to fight on the front lines at the federal level we need a rearguard plan at the state level. I’d personally prefer a return to a strong federalism.
Arizona – http://www.azhealthcarefreedom.com/?
State level efforts – http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/nullification/health-care/
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
With nullification, you are still paying the taxes
GregInFla (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 12:10AM EST (link)Right? And would nullification protect the insurance companies doing business in the state? The real impact of nullification seems to fall into a gray area.
– A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Think about it.
– The sign outside the courthouse said no signs allowed. So I took it down.
– Atlas Shrugged is now on the non-fiction aisle at Amazon.
Tax solution - Escrow
DerKrieger (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 7:48AM EST (link)From the 10th Amendment Center – “One idea, which will take a great deal of courage on the part of the People and their state governments, is to establish what’s being called a “Federal Tax Escrow Account” or a “State Authority and Federal Tax Funds Act.”
Already introduced in Georgia (HB877), Oklahoma (HB2810), and Washington (HB2712), such laws would require that all federal taxes come first to the state’s Department of Revenue. A panel of legislators would assay the Constitutional appropriateness of the Federal Budget, and then forward to the federal government a percentage of the federal tax dollars that are delineated as legal and Constitutionally justified. The remainder of those dollars would be assigned to budgetary items that are currently funded through federal allocations and grants or returned to the people.”
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
Now that is forward thinking
GregInFla (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 10:14PM EST (link)Good ideas to capture the tax money before it leaves the state.
– A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Think about it.
– The sign outside the courthouse said no signs allowed. So I took it down.
– Atlas Shrugged is now on the non-fiction aisle at Amazon.
We need a rearguard plan, sure
Christine (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 5:44AM EST (link)But right now the MAJORITY of us need to concentrate on killing the bill. That’s why we are “not covering” the nullification efforts. Not that it isn’t important but it can’t be our focus right now!
We need to kill the bill. Can you imagine the parrot media coverage of a passed bill? Oh, the courage of the democrats in the face of the evil republicans who hate America! Oh, how wonderful that we’ll [eventually] see see a healthcare takeover! Imagine the news stories over the next few months with carefully crafted scenes of the foundation of government healthcare being built.
We need to kill the bill. If Obama and the democrats win this, do you think they’ll rest and celebrate? Not for long….they’ll assume this was a mandate to move forward, and jump right into “jobs”, cap&tax, illegal immigration. It will be much harder to work on winning in November when we are fighting against liberals who think they have the upper hand.
We need to kill the bill. We can’t be distracted. If, God in heaven forbid, this nightmare gets to the President’s desk, we will shift to the next level of battle.
WE NEED TO KILL THE BILL.
The primary process is FLAWED. Two states should not decide our candidate.
“I would be a poor Commander in Chief”
– Barack Obama, July 3 2008
Plan B...
DerKrieger (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 7:50AM EST (link)Should always be ready before Plan A fails.
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
I just looked at AZ Health Care Freedom...
mbecker908 (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 8:13AM EST (link)and would note just a couple of things.
First, I don’t see the name of a single Arizona politician on the website endorsing this idea. I’m not saying it’s a good or bad idea, simply that NO politician in Arizona – not the Governor, no Legislator or State Senator, no member of the US House of Representatives and not Senator Kyl or McCain or JD Hayworth – is lending their name to the idea.
Second, if you think for one second that there’s a state-level politician in Arizona who will go nose to nose with the Federal Government and not just blink, but wet their pants and run away crying, you don’t have a clue about Arizona.
Our current Governor, Jan Brewer, is Charlie Crist in drag. She makes McCain look like a principled conservative. She’s being primaried by the State Treasurer who is more conservative but not likely to stand up to the Feds. Terry Goddard, the State AG, is a well known and liked Dem who will probably beat Brewer in a walk and could beat our Treasurer if he wins the primary. No Dem Gov will stand up to Fed, whether this is in the AZ State Constitution or not.
The real issue here is that the Arizona state budget is every bit as big a nightmare as the California budget. All Uncle needs to do to bring our local pols to heel is to say “Oh. Fine. We’re withholding all the rest of your federal money. Fave a nice day.” Now that may engender a court challenge and the state could probably win. And four years later, come to some kind of a settlement. Of course we’d be in a state of anarchy during the legal process.
Bottom line, I’m fine with the concept of nullification, but I’ve yet to see a strategy that will make the reality of a federal/state standoff work for the benefit of the state.
Virginia Legislation
DerKrieger (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 10:38PM EST (link)…outlawing the mandate to purchase health insurance
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=101&typ=bil&val=sb417&Submit2=Go
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
This makes it very clear.
Flagstaff (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 11:38PM EST (link)It couldn’t be clearer unless it was printed in 20 point type on a baseball bat.
Any Democrat that thinks this bill will be changed after passage is as deluded as Eric Massa.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
Next step in Progressive assault
talgus Thursday, March 11th at 1:23PM EST (link)The actions being discussed and planed by Democrats are very UnConstitutional and blatant. this is worrisome as they have been shown to know they are losing the voters. They seem to not care. Hope there is no Federal disaster to interfere with Nov 2nd. I would not put it past those elites in power that know they know best (and the MSM that bob their heads in time to the beat).
Right on the money Susan.
mikerazar (Diary) Thursday, March 11th at 5:11PM EST (link)I think it may be even worse than you think, Once the president signs the bill, a new bill of “corrections” will be introduced. it will repeal the Nebraska, Louisiana, and other offensive deals AND it will repay Stupak by restricting federal funding of abortion. It will probably also contain a poison pill or two.
So what will the GOP do? Vote it down or filibuster? That means public funding for abortion. Vote for it? That means some other bad provisions.
I have no idea what to do about it. Does anybody?
http://www.redstate.com/mikerazar/2010/03/09/the-great-reconciliation-scam/
We have a nation to save, people.