This notion of "no vote" is nonsense

[Hippo_Tron]

If Pelosi decides to attach the rule where the Senate bill is deemed pass if the reconciliation bill is passed as well, every single member that votes for the reconciliation bill understands that they are voting for the Senate bill as well. It's not like they are being tricked and it's not like they don't have the option to still vote down the Senate bill, by voting down the reconciliation bill. It's really no different than combining two bills together to get more votes (a frequent practice) except for the fact that some legislators on the fence seem to think it will give them more political cover.

Frankly I don't see how it will give them political cover because Republicans are going to attack them for voting for it anyway. The only thing this does is leave them with the option of trying to explain to voters how technically they didn't vote for the Senate bill because of some arcane parliamentary tactic. That ought to go about as well as John Kerry trying to explain how he voted for the 87 billion before he voted against it.

If this gets us the votes, I'm all for it. I just don't understand why anybody who wouldn't vote for the Senate bill would be swayed to vote for a bill that has a clause in it giving implied approval of the Senate bill.

[Jennicut]

1. Two good points. It is a real vote but what good would it do the House?

They can say they voted for the Reconciliation bill but had to vote for the Senate bill to get what they wanted?

[Unvanguard]

2. Exactly. It's a procedural measure that makes little substantive difference.

Just makes the process easier, by giving House members the assurance that they won't pass the Senate bill only to have the reconciliation bill fail.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

3. Won't the "Senate Bill" essentially cease to exist

Once the fix is approved?

[Oregone]

4. Its a better option than them passing the Senate Bill, then having everything go to shit

And have that piecer end up on Obama's desk

[Mass]

5. It is a good solution. It insures that the Senate bill cannot be passed without the fix.\nt

[karynnj]

6. Because they can't be said to have voted for say the "cornhusker provision"

because what they voted for canceled it out.

The Kerry analogy does show why they might have trouble with this, but the alternative of two bills is actually closer to what happened to Kerry. Then they would actually vote for everything in the Senate bill and then vote for the reconciliation bill taking it out. The question is whether, on a National level, the DCCC can explain this - before the Republicans distort it.
The media helped the Republicans in 2004 - pretending not to understand that Kerry voted for the money if it was paid for by rolling back some tax cuts, and against it when it was added to the debt. Very simple. Two different bills. I actually wonder in hindsight if Senator Kerry should have made an ad that framed it as fiscally irresponsible to add it to the debt.

[Hippo_Tron]

7. There was really no way out of that one for Kerry

The short answer is that politically he should've just voted for the bill. He voted against it because Howard Dean was pressuring him on the war and he needed to do something to demonstrate that he was trying to hold the administration accountable.

But the Bush campaign convinced people that policy (and especially foreign policy) is completely black and white and that either you voted to support the troops or you voted against supporting the troops. And furthermore if there was any ambiguity or you had to explain your vote, you were "playing politics" with the troops.

The West Wing creators actually more or less forecasted this when they created Bartlet's fictional opponent for re-election (two years before the 2004 election) as a model of Geroge W Bush. Bartlet beats his opponent in the debate and the election by demonstrating to voters that his opponent doesn't give simple answers because he's a strong decisive leader but because he's intellectually incapable of doing anything else.

Unfortunately in the real world voters went with the simple answers guy.