- Error
-
After the House Democrat leadership locked down the Congress, strong-armed, and bribed with tax dollars enough votes to pass their version of ObamaCare, the attempted government takeover of one-sixth of the nation's economy is now up for debate in the U.S. Senate, starting today.
Naturally, right-minded Republicans and conservatives will attempt to stop “health-scare deform” bill with a filibuster. But I have a better idea for Senate Republicans. A filibuster only serves as a delaying tactic, and the Democrats, hell bent on ramming this through, will just keep bringing it back to the Senate floor. The GOP caucus can, and needs to kill this legislation in an up-and-down vote, and here's how they can do it.
Think about the Stupak Amendment that passed on the floor of the House a couple weeks ago. Consider also the fact that Majority Leader Harry Reid has put up a version of the bill that includes the government run "public option" that many moderate senators, especially Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), refuse to support.
Back in the House, many liberal pro-choice representatives voted to pass the Stupak Amendment, because they knew final consideration of the bill wouldn't pass without it. Likewise, some left-leaning senators who truly support the "public option," might vote to strip it from bill, making the whole package more palatable for 60 senators on the final cloture vote to stop filibuster.
Therefore, start thinking parliamentary strategy, not ideology. Conservatives loathe the notion of a "public option" and should also vote it down, right? Not so fast.
Surely of the far-left leaning senators at least 20 would likely vote to retain the "public option," as well as federal abortion funding in Senator Reid’s version of the bill. As an act of parliamentary strategy, most of the 40 Republican senators should vote to keep the federal funding of abortion, and the "public option" in the bill. There are not enough moderate senators to support either of those are two poison pills on a cloture vote.
Republicans should deny the moderate Democrats any form of a more "politically palatable" version of ObamaCare. Republican representatives tried that in the House and their strategy failed. Senate Republicans ought to load the ObamaCare bill down with as many progressive poison pills as the far-left faction of the Senate Democrat Caucus will gobble down.
And don't stop with abortions and public option. Republican senators should put all the most hideous stuff in the bill. They should introduce more amendments, such as bureaucratic boards with power to ration health care, reduce Medicare payments to doctors, tax the "Cadillac plans" to death, and other “cost-saving devices.”
Of course Republicans don’t want any of this stuff. Make the Democrat Senators to "eat and defeat" the bill on final cloture vote. No one will accuse a Republican senator of supporting any of that with credibility, because the answer is simple: The senators applied skillful and savvy parliamentary procedures to kill the bill, and voted against all of outrageous amendments upon final consideration. The tactics are votes on procedure, not policy.
Given the senate's rules, this would be a sure way to kill ObamaCare for this session, and as long as far-left senators (Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Bernie Sanders, and others) support these amendments, there is absolutely nothing that Democrats can do to halt the Republican strategy.
History will record whether we stood against this collectivist tide and chose to not be like the other nations that have "nationalized health care." If the Republicans can prove themselves worthy being a true opposition party they have the ability to stop this legislative insanity. Only time will tell if the GOP can answer the call and defend freedom against this assault.
Strong senatorial leadership at this point in time might just earn them control of both chambers of Congress, as well as the presidency by 2012.
Trackback(0)
Commentary 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed