FACT: There Will Be An Up Or Down Vote On Health Care

[jefferson_dem]

There Will Be An Up Or Down Vote On Health Care
Mar 16 2010, 10:40 AM ET

The Wall Street Journal's particularly caustic editorial on the self-executing maneuver that might allow Democrats to pass health care reconciliation legislation without having to first vote on that putrid Senate bill is full of absolutes and adjective constructions; it is an "amazing procedural ruse" -- a "concoction" that violates Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution, which states that for a bill to become law, it "shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate." Speaker Nancy Pelosi, because of the Stupak 12 and the compromises in the Senate bill, can't get enough Democrats to put their names down on the slate as having voting yes on it as a standalone measure. The reconciliation fix is much more popular. Hence -- self-executing -- a parliamentary maneuver that essentially "presumes" the Senate bill into law by passing the post-facto fixes only.

Plain enough, right? Even Democrats are buying into the notion, fretting about the optics allegedly not voting. Not really. In fact, the Journal gets it wrong. So do Democrats. So has the political class. Democrats will still be on the hook for health care. Here's why:

Yesterday, conservative jurist Michael McConnell argued that that Democrats are trying to finish the health care bill without voting on it. Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate, intoned that Democrats claim they never voted for it even though they'll vote to send it to the President for a signature."

But that's wrong. House Democrats aren't doing that.

In fact, they ARE taking an up or down vote on the Senate health care bill. They're just doing it AT THE SAME TIME as they're passing the reconciliation language, which countermands several controversial provisions. That is: House Democrats still have to vote for the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback," and the "Gator Aid" provisions, but they're going to do so while simultaneously passing the reconciliation fix that removes them. The two bills will essentially be merged into one vote.

<SNIP>

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/03/there-will-be-an-up-or-down-vote-on-health-care/37540/

[NJmaverick]

1. Why do 99% of the political lies trace back to the GOP?

[Peacetrain]

2. Bingo!..

If they can't live with the facts.. they make up a whole new reality for themselves, with the Democrats as the mortal enemy

[Jennicut]

3. There are many lies about this whole procedure.

The Rethugs have used rules like this. And that the bills will be essentially merged is another talking point Dems should echo.

[HughMoran]

4. It's so simple, a caveman could do it

:P

[Bryn]

5. Exactly what is an Up Or Down Vote?

what is difference between yes/no and up/down vote?

:hide:

[Clio the Leo]

6. KICK!!! KICK!!! KICK!!!!

The Dems are losing the message war on this one BIG time .... we need to ALL be clear on this. THERE WILL BE A VOTE!!!!

(lol, unless something changes tomorrow)

[Ikonoklast]

7. Then let them challenge it in court.

They won't.

They know they're full of shit, if they think for on hot second any constitutional issues about the voting procedure on this bill hasn't been vetted thoroughly.