Why I think "Deem and Pass" is a mistake

[Perky]

I do not think it is unconstitutional.
I undertand and appreciate the political necessity of a reconciliation bill.
I think there is ample precedent.
I also understand that a good portion of the House hates the Senate Bill and that the process is being used to protect against charges of flip-flopping,

I don't give a crap what the GOP says and how the wingnuts howl.

But here is the thing and it should not be lost on anyone. Passing the Senate Bill and sending it down the street for signature may be a gut check for the some House members. But is is a body blow to the opposition. It would utterly deflate their ability to mount an attack on a standalone reconciliation effort. And that is where the problem is.

With an unsigned bill tied however loosely to a reconciliation bill if McConnell is able to use parliamentary procedures to nut-up the reconciliation bill or pull out element that fractures the Dems, it is a Pandora's box. kill a single element of reconcilation and it goes back to Conference and then back for another vote in the House. Meanwhile the original legislation would seeming remain in limbo. Is Heathe care passes or not, where is the President's signature

Serious questions arise if the House needed to pass the original bill on an "up and down" vote and send it off to the President for signature. I am not convinced the votes could be mustered in that scenario, but I am sure that at that point the voting public would be so bewildered, tired of it and pissed off thatthe GOP will have carried off a minority coup because the Dems could not get their shit together.



I know the House hates the Senate bill and does not want to vote for it but it you game this out...it sure seems they are risking a hell of a lot because they lack the political courage to vote on a bill that has to pass anyway.

They obviously need some Ironclad assurance for the Senate that Reconciliation is a done deal, but having said the the bills need to be untethered.

On edit: It appears that the President will sign the Original bill I just hope to God they make a big to do about it so they can buste GOP's enthusiasm on the reconciliation bill to come.

[high density]

1. The fact the GOP and media are talking about procedure seems to show we're on the right track

I don't recall this stuff being discussed when Bush was ramming things through. In fact there was a constant roar for "up or down" votes. If the House has to do this to get a proper vote in the Senate, I don't have a problem with it.

[Perky]

2. That's because he did not have a ferocious united opposition.

We rolled over. The GOP won't

[LiberalFighter]

3. With as much publicity as there is about this "deem and pass"

you mean to tell me that the Representatives that vote yea are still going to knowing that it is also a vote on the original bill?

The Republicans and the media are just playing this as a red herring that isn't.

This vote is more open than when a person agrees to a credit card that offers 0% interest for 12 months in headline font and then says that after the 12th month interest will be 32.9% in microscopic size font.