Will Scott Brown Ruin Republicans' (Secret) Plan to Pass Obamacare?

[democraticinsurgent]

By Lawrence O'Donnell

It is now a given that if he wins a Massachusetts Senate seat on Tuesday, Scott Brown will destroy the Democrats' plan to pass health care reform. But he will also destroy the Republicans' not-so-secret plan to pass health care reform.

In Washington, where everyone is desperate to know what's happening behind closed doors, all you have to do to keep something secret is do it out in the open, preferably on C-Span. Mitch McConnell did exactly that when he entered a unanimous consent agreement with Harry Reid about how to proceed on the health care bill. McConnell knew that agreement was going to make it impossible for Republicans to amend the bill and would put it on a fast track toward passage.

McConnell accepted an agreement brilliantly designed by Reid that required 60 votes to pass an amendment. McConnell did that without anyone noticing anything odd after a year of saturation coverage of the importance of 60 votes in the Senate. Everyone outside the Senate now thinks it takes 60 votes to do anything. Not amendments. Amendments pass by a simple majority, 51 votes. Amendments are usually debated for a couple of minutes or hours or days, then voted on. Once in a while, a 60-vote cloture motion is needed to end debate on an amendment. What McConnell agreed to was an implicit cloture motion in every vote on every amendment, thereby completely surrendering the minority's real power. In all my years in the Senate, I never saw a leader make such a mistake. If it was a mistake.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-odonnell/will-scott-brown-ruin-rep_b_426604.html

[spanone]

1. interesting...kick

[dkf]

2. Ha! I still think the repubs talked Joe Lieberman into making this a crappy bill so they could run

against it.

Joe gets his revenge. Keeps his committee. If the senate ever turns republican due to outrage over health care he will jump over immediately.

[derby378]

3. I wouldn't bet on it

If you saw Inglourious Basterds, you probably remember the whole question of being able to idenitfy a Nazi once he takes his uniform off.

It would benefit the Republicans for Lieberman to remain an independent caucused with the Democrats while still voting with the GOP every chance he gets.

[dkf]

4. Not if they take the senate eventually.

[jgraz]

6. It's not entirely clear that the Democrats didn't talk Lieberman into this

They can pretend to stand up for the middle class, Lieberman can stick it to those filthy libs and then retire in 2012 to a nice, fat consulting position with the insurance cartel.

[dkf]

8. If I believed that I might as well give up already.

I'd like to think they are misguided not devious obfuscators

[jgraz]

9. Unfortunately, the evidence is against you

Personally, I'd rather face the truth so we know what we're up against.

[dkf]

14. Is this more than conjecture?

We have a report that this took place? From what source?

[jgraz]

15. The Kabuki theater around health care wasn't enough?

Including Obama flat-out lying about campaigning on the Public Option? So far, the evidence is that our President and his Senate colleagues have not behaved in a trustful manner.

[dkf]

16. I'm suspicious but I'd want something more before I come to a conclusion.

[jgraz]

18. Fair enough.

For me, there's more than enough evidence of what's going on, but that's just one opinion. I think it's pretty clear that Rahm has nothing but contempt for the rabble, and he's basically running the show.

[spotbird]

5. So the Democrats should come

back with a bill effective immediately. If preexisting condition prohibitions were truly obliterated, then reinstated, it would be wildly unpopular.

[timeforpeace]

7. This is the problem with people who get paid by the word.

[struggle4progress]

10. Nope. Not gonna read beyond "Republicans' Secret Plan to Pass Obamacare"

[Faryn Balyncd]

11. K and R.....Baucus-Lieber-Care is a GOP two-fer...A corporatist disaster they can blame on Obama....

[democraticinsurgent]

12. I really don't know what to believe any more

But I do think highly of Lawrence O'Donnell and therefore pay attention to what he says.

Time will tell--if Brown wins MA--whether there's truth in this.

[O is 44]

13. Good read, although why do

so called progressives use right wing terms? "Obamacare" please.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

17. Headline brevity, in this case

And if Huffpost is like newspapers the author doesn't get to write the headline