The latest from the world of ObamaCare...

House Dems want to pass ObamaCare without actually voting on it

Yes, believe it or not, it's come to this.  House Democratic leaders are working on a strategy which would allow the House to "pass" the Senate version of ObamaCare but avoid the unpleasant prospect of having to vote in favor of it on the record.  The trick would involve them voting instead for a "reconciliation" package (changes to the Senate bill) which, under the new rule adopted for this purpose, would pre-suppose passage of the underlying Senate bill which they just voted to "reconcile".

Just in case you're not keeping track at home, this makes at least three "unusual" changes to the normal legislative process that Democrats have employed to ram this bill through.  The first being not having a conference committee to iron out the differences between the House and Senate bills, (because that could then be filibustered by the no longer filibuster proof Senate); the second being to propose using reconciliation in the Senate as a way to "fix" the bill so the House would vote for it, (again, so as to avoid need more than just 51 senators), and the third now being the House trying to pass a bill they don't actually vote for.

Now that the Obama administration has decided to double-down on health care and demand passage of the Senate version of ObamaCare...and the White House has set a timeline of two weeks to get it done...it's safe to say that we're about to see some of the most severe arm twisting in political history. 

In fact, if you thought it looked bad the first time around, (when the House version passed by only 3 votes, and the Senate version passed that chamber by the bare minimum), you haven't seen anything yet.

Why is that?  Because the Democrats decided to forget about a conference committee, (the usual process of ironing out differences between House and Senate bills), and push the existing Senate bill through the House.  The problem is that it must be passed WITHOUT any amendments or changes whatsoever.  This is because, if it is changed, the Senate would have to approve it all over again...and this time there are 41 Republicans, (thanks to Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts), that can sustain a filibuster.

As we move into what should be the final (and most important) phase of the debate over ObamaCare, it's of course critical that members of Congress hear from as many of their constituents as possible.

And given Obama's speech outlining how he wants Congress to move forward, and Nancy Pelosi's recent statements, it looks like they intent to move forward with using the trick of the Senate budget reconciliation rule to pass this monstrosity.  This puts the near term focus on the House.

Below you'll find a list of the names and contact numbers for what appear to be the "swing votes" in the House on this issue.  If one of them is YOUR Representative it is VITAL that you contact them now and let them know how you feel.  If you would rather send them (or even all members of Congress) a fax, click here.

Contact them today...  Then pass it on!

It looks like the American public is going to have to endure (and oppose) at least one more version of ObamaCare before we can finally be done with it.

The White House announced that Obama would pitch the newest version of his "plan" tomorrow.  Essentially, it looks like that plan will be "part" of the existing plans, with the addition of a few ideas that they call "Republican" ideas.

Of course this goes on against the backdrop of talk by the Democrat leadership (and the White House) that they will now look to use the budget reconciliation process to pass the bill.  Which means they're going to attempt to get around a Republican filibuster by using a rule that was designed for the budget process...not legislation that can remake 1/6th of the US economy.

But you're not likely to hear Obama (and even few Democrats) use the word "reconciliation"...or any talk about using the special rule to pass his big program.  Instead, they're rephrasing the talking points to use the term "simple majority".  Of course, they're quick to overlook the fact that their proposal doesn't even come close to having a "simple majority" of support among the American people.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken the retooling of euphemisms to the next level, saying that "The bill can be bipartisan, even though the votes might not be bipartisan".

Now that last week's big health care "summit" has come and gone, it's a good time to take a look at what kind of impact it had on American public opinion about the Democrat's proposed reforms.

Short answer?  Still opposed.  The latest survey by Rasmussen shows 52% of voters opposed and 44% in favor.  And remember, that's AFTER all the fluff coverage it received from the summit.

The more interesting numbers however, (and the ones that the politicians up for reelection this year should pay attention to), are those that demonstrate the passion and intensity people have about the issue.  The survey shows 43% of voters being "strongly opposed", with only 22% "strongly in favor".

Not good for Democrats who have voted for it already, much less thinking about using the budget reconciliation process to get around a filibuster and pass it with a simple majority in Congress.

Some other interesting items:

As mentioned earlier, former DNC chief and Vermont Governor Howard Dean has come out against the latest version of health care "reform" in the Senate.  And, much to the dismay of the White House, he's been making the rounds in the media opposing passage.

And since we recognize how rare the occasion that we would agree Dean on anything, it makes his following quote worth highlighting:

"The bill doesn't actually "cover" 30-million more Americans - instead it makes them criminals if they don't buy insurance."

Exactly.