Democrats eye sneaky tactics to save ObamaCare

First, Democrats in Massachusetts rammed a bill through the state Legislature after Ted Kennedy's death allowing the Democratic governor to appoint a caretaker Democrat to fill the seat until a special election could be held -- ensuring a 60th vote for President Obama's healthcare reform. It was assumed that in Massachusetts, with a 3-to-1 Democratic edge in voter registration, a Democrat would win.

But now, given the sudden prospect that Democratic Atty. Gen. Martha Coakley could lose to upstart state Sen. Scott Brown, Democrats in Washington are plotting how to save healthcare.

One scenario that's floating around is capitulation -- the House would accept the Senate version of the bill, thus negating the need for the Senate to vote again. But Speaker Nancy Pelosi is said to oppose this idea, since many in the House -- including organized labor -- detest the Senate's tax on Cadillac health plans and passing the Senate version could endanger Democratic seats in the 2010 elections.

Another idea is to delay Brown's seating -- Democrats control the certification process in both the state and in Washington -- and rush a conference bill to both chambers. Already, lawyers from both sides have called the governor's office for details on the procedures.

Finally, there's reconciliation, a ju-jitsu procedural move that would allow the Senate to pass the bill with a simple majority of 51 instead of 60 votes.

"Even before Massachusetts and that race was on the radar screen, we prepared for the process of using reconciliation," said Maryland Democrat Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Getting healthcare reform passed is important. ... Reconciliation is an option."

No matter how they wrangle the details, the Democratic ploys are likely to open them to changes that the party that campaigned vowing transparency in office has instead channeled the power-scheming tactics of Tammany Hall.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Comments

[Brian]

If this bill requires all these evil, underhanded tactics to get it passed shouldn't the voter be asking "What the Hell is in this?". Bribes and kickbacks to secure votes, Strong arm tactics and outright threats to reluctant Democrats, TV "News Commentators" on MSNBC calling for Voter Fraud and Cheating to Stop Scott Brown to save this bill, and NOW Legal trickery and Fraud.
If The so called "Democratic Party" really believed in Democracy they would throw this bill in the gutter where the VAST majority of Americans want it to go. They have abandoned all of their "Democratic" principles in order to secure power for themselves.
They are Going to fail, and Bring down a Presidency along with them.

[Republican Jihadist Unite]

A vote for a Republican candidate is a vote for runaway inflation, it is a vote for double digit unemployment, it is a vote for evaporation of retirement funds, it is a vote for illegal torture of citizens of a country we arbitrarily decide to occupy, it is a vote to corrupt the justice system and politicize it. No caring, thinking individual could ever vote Republican again.

[JSA26]

I may be getting cynical in my old age. I read it in the comments on a news site I believe it was here, the metaphor makes so much sense.

American politics is like American pro sports. Each team has it's own colors and it's die-hard supporters but they are all playing the same game and the real winners are not the teams or the fans but the elite behind the scenes.

The best game is when neither side has overwhelming superiority.

The current state of affairs is Chicago Politics. Bribe our friends and steam roll the rest. Disgusting!

[John]

A Reconciliation process might allow a 51 vote bill that actually provides true health care reform including a robust public option. That's what a vast majority of Americans want, according to virtually all polling, and that's what this country and our economy needs to get costs under control and finally allow us to join the 21st Century along with the other major western nations who have superior health care.

[Jon Strum]

The "tactics of Tammany Hall"??? They don't have to remember all the way back then. They can simply recall the Republican-controlled Congress in 2003, when the GOP scheduled the vote on the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan for 2:00AM!! But there's no mention of that bit of midnight treachery in your piece...perhaps your memory doesn't reach back that far...

[rational]

Republican Jihadist Unite wrote:
A vote for a Republican candidate is a vote for runaway inflation, it is a vote for double digit unemployment, it is a vote for evaporation of retirement funds, it is a vote for illegal torture of citizens of a country we arbitrarily decide to occupy, it is a vote to corrupt the justice system and politicize it. No caring, thinking individual could ever vote Republican again.
.
GOSH! We now have double digit unemployment. Runaway inflation is on the way with MASSIVE deficits. My 401K which was just find for years became a 201K. The current justice department refuses to answer questions about conflict of interest and dropping the black panther voter intimidation case. I don't see how any THINKING individual could miss the fact that this is happening under a democratic house, a filabuster proof democratic senate and a democratic president.
I think and I care - therefore I'm either voting Republican or Conservative!

[crowdsource316]

shouldn't it be "open them to charges"?

[Mike]

The "tactics of Tammany Hall"??? They don't have to remember all the way back then. They can simply recall the Republican-controlled Congress in 2003, when the GOP scheduled the vote on the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan for 2:00AM!! But there's no mention of that bit of midnight treachery in your piece...perhaps your memory doesn't reach back that far...

Posted by: Jon Strum | January 18, 2010 at 04:44 PM
_______________
That's what you have to comapre to the delaying in seating of duly elected officials? The dems had late night/early morning voting as well, not such a big deal. Not anything like the cornhusker kickback, louisiana purchase, exempting unions from the cadillac tax, etc. These things don't even compare.

[valwayne]

Democrats really don't get it. People are furious at their corruption and abuse of power. The voters of the most liberal state in the union are poised to send them an unmistakable message that the broken promises, corruption, and sleazy politics have to end, and their response to the pending message is more corruption, more sleazy politics. An arrogant in your face rejection of the American people. They all need to go in 2010! There is clearly no hope with these people!!!!

[goodonyaa]

I think the voters of Mass haven't forgotten that the bill the Dems sneaked through to seat a lapdog caretaker for Ted Kennedy was a repeal of the bill those same Dems rammed through to prevent then-Republican Gov. Mitt Romney to appoint a possible replacement for John Kerry in 2004. Not even the true-blue Mass electorate are that callous and stupid enough to tolerate such shenanigans (I hope). If justice prevails, the Dems will pay in spades for their treachery, and Scott Brown will take over the "Kennedy Seat".

[Josh In Faheel]

HERE'S ANOTHER OPTION. START OVER AND DO A BI-PARTISAN BILL! IF THIS WERE A REPUBLICAN LED MOVE ALL HELL WOULD BE BREAKING LOSE IN THE STREETS, WHY DO WE LET THE DEM'S DO THIS? WHY DOESN'T THE MEDIA REPORT ANOTHER OPTION, THE BI-PARTISAN ONE?

[Dadler]

So a legitimate parlimentary procedure is NOW sneaky? Is Johanna Neumann younger than thirty, because this "analysis" seems the work of a child. The most progressive tax reform legislation of the last few decadesw, that ushered in actual SURPLUSES in the federal coffers, was the Omnibus Reconcilliation Act of 1993.

The truth, that this blogger seems intellectually incapable of understanding, is the reconcilliation should've been the DEFACTO route for actual healthCARE reform legislation, as opposed to the health INSURANCE legislation that we are looking at. A giant handout to an industry that has proven itself craven, dishonest, and not very concerned with actual health CARE, is not reform.

Obama has failed miserably in this pursuit because he never believed in it, never fought for it, and never cared apparently that Republicans were NEVER going to support ANYthing he did in this area. That he apparently thought they would might seem to be true, but in the end one can only conclude this is the bill Obama wanted and that Obama is more a representative of corporate interests than in the mass of American people who elected him.

[Steve Lyons]

The strategy that the democrats are considering in forcing through an unpopular piece of "legislation" is called sedition. Deliberately using their position to create laws that augment their own power is also called tyranny. Brown must win, so the democrats fully expose their "retain power at any cost" way of operating, and the people clearly see the need to disrupt their machine in November. If they succeed it may be cause for impeachment.

[John]

A Reconciliation process might allow a 51 vote bill that actually provides true health care reform including a robust public option. That's what a vast majority of Americans want, according to virtually all polling, and that's what this country and our economy needs to get costs under control and finally allow us to join the 21st Century along with the other major western nations who have superior health care.

Posted by: John | January 18, 2010 at 02:51 PM

What planet are you living on, John? All REAL polling shows the vast majority of Americans DO NOT WANT a "public option," be it "robust" or otherwise. The fact is the only way to lower costs and increase competition is to allow policies to be sold over state lines and to institute real, meaningful Tort reform. Liberals won't go for those solutions because they make sense and do not allow for them and their ilk to control even more of our lives.

And if you agree that the United States government can tell its citizens how to spend their money, how much of it they are to spend and with whom they are to spend it, you, sir, are a socialist. And if this plan is so great, why the need for all the back-room meetings, secret deals, bribes and outright corruption? Simple, any government-run plan would be devastatingly bad for the people, and everyone except close-minded liberals know it.

[Terry]

I have a serious question: Is this supposed to be a non-partisan blog or is it rightwing? It's fine if it's rightwing, but I wish you would be more upfront about labeling it.

[Millard Fillmore]

If Republicans win the MA seat, the Democrats must and will hold up the healthcare vote. Failure to do so should open automatic impeachment hearings in the House and Senate against Comrade Speaker and Harry "Negro dialect" Reid. If neither happens the people of this nation should take to the streets and lead a revolt to wrest back control of this nation, our nation, from their corrupt claws.