How about the Democrats use the regular process to pass the health care fixes and dare

[Tony_FLADEM]

the Republicans to filibuster these. This would put the Republicans in the position of having to take some blame for the things in the health care bill that people don't like.

[aungsungsuchi2]

1. cbo says obamacare may reduce the deficit...

...

[aungsungsuchi2]

2. cbo says

CBO and JCT estimate that, on balance, the direct spending and revenue effects of
enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would yield a net reduction in
federal deficits of $130 billion over the 2010-2019 period (see Table 1).

[slipslidingaway]

5. Please post the link. n/t

[Hawkeye-X]

7. You're still here, zombie?

Can't wait until Skinner sitebans your IP.

Fuck off, Freddie Stubbs, Jr.

[Tony_FLADEM]

3. I'm not talking about that. I'm referring to things that House Democrats want to change

and are popular with the American People. Make the Republicans filibuster these.

[Mike 03]

4. What do you consider the Regular Process? Wouldn't the other side just outvote us if we followed

your advice?

[Tony_FLADEM]

6. Not using reconciliation. Make the Republicans filibuster

fixing the bill. They will take some of the blame for any shortcomings in it.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Under the current rules that would mean no bill.

A revote in the Senate would fail to get the require 60 votes. Under the current operative rules, failure on a cloture vote ends the procedure.

[Tony_FLADEM]

9. I'm saying pass the bill and having Obama sign it

Then make the Republicans filibuster any fixes to it.

In this way, the Republicans will get blamed for anything that people don't like about the bill.

[Warren Stupidity]

10. What is your concern over fixing it by majority vote?

Reconciliation is an opportunity to revise this legislation without a filibuster. I would prefer a better bill than the crap the senate passed with 60 votes, and we can get that with 50.

[Tony_FLADEM]

11. The things that can be fixed are limited if you use reconciliation

If you use regular order you can include more things and put the Republicans on the spot politically.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. It is entirely ambiguous what can or cannot be included in reconciliation.

But again I don't understand why these are mutually exclusive: repair the bill as much as possible in reconciliation, and then by all means bring up as many new bills as we want. But they don't even get through OUR committees. We lost almost everything in the Baucus committee. Our Democrats are 2/5 useless.

[Better Believe It]

16. You need 50 votes plus Biden, not 60 to pass legislation.

If the Republicans threaten to filibuster, let them.

In fact, make them filibuster on the Senate floor. That's what Reid threatened to do yesterday.

[Warren Stupidity]

17. They would have to change the rules.

Reid, in case you hadn't noticed, threatens to do stuff but rarely does anything. Yesterday was not about the filibuster it was about another Senate stupidity, Unanimous Consent, which allows one asshole to block anything. Reid was going to force asshole to stay on the floor objecting to UC over and over again.

[KharmaTrain]

13. What Do You Think They've Been Doing...

If it hadn't been for deliberate rushpublican obstructionism, this healthcare bill would have been a done deal last fall. But it wasn't just the GOOP who slow walked this...so did Democrats under a Majority "Leader" who was afraid to ruffle feathers and got walked on all over the place. Why filibuster when you can play all sorts of other games, like the Bunning stunt (and yes, I do believe it was done in coordination with party leaders) to gum up the process. It slowed things down enough to allow their propagandists to distort what was going on and the ensuing pressures made it even toughter for a bill to pass.

Overall, I'm with you...and there still may come a time that calling their bullshit will be needed. There's cap and trade still looming out there and the GOOP will be as determined to fight and slow walk that as they are with this legislation. In that matter, there won't be any reconciliation and I would hope sooner, rather than later, the Democrats do call the GOOP on their bluffs. Let them shut down the government. The Bunning stunt ended cause the GOOP realized it overplayed its hand, again, and accomplished yet another delay while millions go without health care.

[mmonk]

14. I don't know if you can fix a pyramid middle man scheme.

[Toots]

15. What you consider "blame" Republicans consider Credit.

Republicans would like nothing more than to do just that..and take great pride in doing so..