It doesn’t matter whether or not you think the current plan will help the medical system in this country. It doesn’t matter if you believe that there is a right to health care or how far you believe that right extends. It doesn’t matter how you feel about the issue at all. In fact most of my readers probably disagree with my stance in the issue and that’s fine. What matter is the fact our elected representatives are elected to represent us and they are not. They public, overwhelmingly, opposes any attempt to use reconciliation to shoehorn in a health care plan. The fact our representatives are considering it shows that they do not care what we want and believe that they know better what we need than we do. The fact they claim this deserves an up or down vote is also patently insane. Our government was designed to do what the people want regardless of whether it is good for us or not. The protections laid out in the Constitution all protect us from the government and not the other way around. The senate rules, filibuster included, were designed so that 51% of the elected representatives didn’t get piss in the other 49% coffee. These things are in place to insure not only that we, the people and the government, act as a Constitutional Republic but so that we don’t get bulldozed. Right now that’s exactly what our government is trying to do to us. The reconciliation rules were designed to streamline the budget process and not to allow legislation that a majority of the population opposes to be enacted. The MSM is saying, and correctly, that Republicans have used reconciliation a lot in the past while and it is true. However what they don’t tell you is that it has been used for items related to the budget an overwhelming majority of those uses. Tax cuts are a valid use of the reconciliation process as they are part of the federal budget. The changes that the powers that be want to make using reconciliation go beyond items that affect the federal budget. Some items are actually valid but, in this case, a majority of them are not. And for the record I do not approve of the few times that Republicans used the process to sneak in changes that weren’t directly related to the federal budget and would oppose the use of reconciliation by folks I agree with just as vehemently because I firmly believe the government does not have the right to act outside the will of the people. The will of the people is obvious here folks. It’s in every poll.
Furthermore this unprecedented use of the reconciliation process will open it up to further abuse by sides of the corrupt political spectrum. This cannot and will not be a good thing. It will embolden both parties to use the process in ways that it was never intended to be used whenever partisanship rears its head and they want to bully the other side.
Right now the Democrats are crying about the filibuster process but they seem to forget that it was a Democrat that changed the rules to make it a procedural thing that is quiet and bloodless. Prior to the 1970′s a filibuster required continuous speeches on the floor of the Senate and then Mike Mansfield (D-MT) led a charge to change the rules and make the filibuster a quiet little paper blockade and at the same time changed the cloture requirements from 2/3 to the current 3/5. So the procedural hurdle that the Democrats can’t overcome is one that they put into place. By my count they have enough votes in the Senate to meet the 2/3 requirement that they changed. Now they want to use reconciliation, a tool both parties have used incorrectly in the past, in a manner that it has never been used and possibly in a manner that is not entirely legal.
So if you agree with nationalized health care you should still oppose this process that the President appears to be ready to order his lackeys to follow because it will open up any legislation passed to even more lawsuits beyond the already present problems. It will open the floodgates for either side to shove legislation through that couldn’t have been passed any other way. It will make mockery of the Senate rules and a further mockery of our Senators actually representing us. None of these things is healthy for the country regardless of how you feel about the law they are trying to slide through this back door. This process almost insures that if the legislation makes it through it will be brought before SCOTUS even faster than before and very likely struck down for violating the process necessary to pass laws in this country. It will sign the political death warrant of most of the people involved and power will change hands in a head spinning manner.
Obama is a one term President. He knows it. Congress knows it. The public knows it. He is trying to push his agenda, right or wrong, by any means necessary during that term. He knows that this is an election year. He knows he is leading his party to a slaughter on election day but all he cares about is his legacy and agenda. More and more Democrats are realizing this but with Pelosi doing the same thing they are afraid of being thrown under the bus at any given point. It’s not safe in Washington right now and the powers that be want to make sure they push their agenda down our throats whether we like it or not before they lose the power to do so. It is sickening to be honest. I don’t care what party is in power. This pushing of agendas through back doors and loopholes is wrong.
Call your representatives. Call your congressman. Let them know you do not support them refusing to represent their constituents. Let them know their jobs are on the line. Make your voice heard. I firmly believe that even with reconciliation that health care reform, at least this iteration, won’t make into law but this is a good time to let Washington know they are supposed to represent us and not do what they believe is best for us whether we want it or not. Let them know they are getting too big for their britches and maybe we can change something come election day. I don’t care what letter a person has by their name. If they swore to vote the will of their constituents regardless of their personal beliefs, and I believed they meant it (like that would ever happen), I wouldn’t think twice about voting for them.
The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected. – G.K. Chesterton
Comments
WhiskeyT on 03.03.2010
You are skipping over the fact that the bill did pass the Senate with a 60 vote super majority. They can’t make any changes that aren’t deficit neutral or deficit positive. It’s not as though they can go in there and completely re-writ legislation from the bottom up.
Calling out the democrats for going against the will of the people also ignores that the constant threat of filibuster and holds from Republicans killed any shot of a public option, the part of health care that actually polls better then the current bill.
Romeo Sid Vicious on 03.03.2010
I was trying to say: All that you mentioned aside that this is not the right move and it will hurt both sides and the public trust. I know they can’t rewrite it from the bottom up but the plan Obama has, his plan, is not budget neutral or budget positive and he’s trying to push for that to be through reconciliation. The Congressional Budget Office says it’s a LOT more than the Senate bill that passed.
My point was that no matter where you stand on the issue that this isn’t the way to get it done. Yes the public option polls well. I am against it but this time I am not talking about the ins and outs of global health care. I am saying that no matter where you stand this is a bad idea. If you support a public option you can’t get it with this process and won’t get it later because using this process assures a massive power change. If you don’t support it this still emboldens both sides to be idiots later. I honestly didn’t mean for this to be about the actual law they are trying to pass but why the method is suicide for a lot of those required for it to work as well as being damaging to the public farther down the road. As well as pointing out that our representatives aren’t representing us.
And as for the whole “evil filibuster” thing the Dems used it to even block Bush appointees (some of whom I am glad they blocked) which had never been done before. We don’t live in a democracy and the founders never intended a 51% percent majority to play football with 49% of the population’s teddy bears. That’s why the filibuster exists. But the Dems are the ones who made it this easy to implement. They are being bitten by their own party’s decisions at this point. They made it a paper hurdle that requires no effort and raised a 2/3 cloture requirement to 3/5. I am all for changing the filibuster process back to requiring speeches to be made on the floor for the whole time the filibuster is on going. I don’t think that it’s proper that it’s, in essence, a gentlemens agreement and little more. But using reconciliation to get around it isn’t the way to push anything through.
Starting over is the only way a public option will be on the table in the foreseeable future. If they push the current bill through with reconciliation there will be blood in the streets, figuratively, on election day and the chance will be lost for a long time to get a public option into health care. I don’t want a public option but if you do then you need to oppose the method that is being pushed right now or you’ll never see it.
WhiskeyT on 03.03.2010
My point on the filibuster thing is that the will of the people could have been enacted (meaning the public option) were it not for the spineless Democrats and filibustering Republicans and “Connecticut for Liberman”s all of which led us here. Basically we are just seeing an ongoing battle of who can abuse the process the most. And yes both parties are guilty as hell.
Public option could indeed be enacted here (via “Medicare for All”) but the Dems won’t do it. Which does go to your point that the will of the people has indeed been unjustly ignored through this entire process.
Romeo Sid Vicious on 03.03.2010
We may disagree with what the will of the people is on this but the abuse is what I am concentrating on. The slimeballs, on both sides, in Washington are pushing the public to a point that they have never done before. If they don’t back off they will push it hard enough that a third party could come in and cause major issues for both of the existing parties. I actually think that would be a good thing…