Health Care Update – 3/18/2010

As of this writing, there is still no final score from the CBO, so the final vote will be on Sunday at the earliest.

Louis Gomert made the claim that ‘Deem and Pass’ is really ‘demon pass’, because there are demons involved.  He exaggerated. I have found only one single demon involved in this debate, and I have the picture.

Last Friday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) began freaking out that House Democrats are considering the use of a common parliamentary procedure known as either a “self-executing rule” or “deem and pass” to finish health care reform. “If they do that then American citizens have standing to sue against this bill,” said Bachmann on Friday. The next day, Bachmann suggested that citizens “don’t have to follow” the health care law if it passes using that procedure. (In fact, there will be an up or down vote on the bill.)

On Sean Hannity’s radio show yesterday, Bachmann went even further by accusing the media of “treason” [goose steppers delinked] for “not telling this story” that Speaker Nancy Pelosi “would even consider having us pass a bill that no one votes on.” Bachmann then suggested that if health care passed through “deem and pass,” it would warrant calls of impeachment:

BACHMANN: Well, yeah, and the other thing is treason media. Where is the mainstream media in all of this not telling this story? This is a compelling story.

HANNITY: Right.

BACHMANN: That the Speaker of the House would even consider having us pass a bill that no one votes on.

HANNITY: Yep.

BACHMANN: That should laugh her out of the House and there should be people that are calling for impeachment off of something like this. That’s how bad this is. I mean trust me, Dennis Hastert never could have gotten away with this.

Listen here:

Bachmann’s outrage is ridiculous. As AEI congressional scholar Norman Ornstein pointed out yesterday, former Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) did get “away with this” when he was Speaker. “In the last Congress that Republicans controlled, from 2005 to 2006, Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier used the self-executing rule more than 35 times, and was no stranger to the concept of deem and pass,” wrote Ornstein… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

In spite of Michelle Bachmann’s demonic rant, there is a simple explanation for “deem and pass”.  The passage of the Senate bill is included in the reconciliation bill with the statement that the reconciliation bill deems the Senate bill passed.  It is nothing but a lame mechanism to allow cowardly Blue Dogs to make the claim that the didn’t vote for the Senate bill.  The claim is preposterous.  By voting for the reconciliation bill they ARE voting for the Senate bill, and don’t think the Republicans won’t make that claim once the hellfire and brimstone emanating from the aforementioned demon and her infernal cohorts clears.  Democrats would be better served to just vote for the Senate bill outright, followed by the reconciliation bill.  This subterfuge just gives Republicans a handle to use process to distract Americans from substance.

On the Bart ‘Coat Hanger’ Stupak front, there appears to be a revolt within the Catholic Church.

Wow. On Monday, Catholic Bishops released a letter opposing the Senate health care reform bill because it didn’t contain the Stupak language. While they acknowledged differences with the Catholic Health Association, their message was clear: they were speaking as the official and authoritative voice of the Catholic Church.

This analysis of the flaws in the legislation is not completely shared by the leaders of the Catholic Health Association. They believe, moreover, that the defects that they do recognize can be corrected after the passage of the final bill. The bishops, however, judge that the flaws are so fundamental that they vitiate the good that the bill intends to promote. Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke.

In a clear break with the bishops, 60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 nuns have joined with the Catholic Health Association to support the Senate bill as written.

The letter says that "despite false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions." The letter says the legislation also will help support pregnant women and "this is the real pro-life stance."

This is huge for a number of reasons. The nuns signing this letter are the ones in the trenches, serving in Catholic hospitals and health care clinics across the nation. They represent those who see the wreckage left behind when people are denied access to care until it’s too late, the damage done when poor women cannot get prenatal care, and when the sick are left to their own devices.

Even so, the word of the bishops is regarded as the word of the Church. For these nuns to stand in defiance because they are truly pro-life, before and after birth, is a stunning eye-opening development… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

I applaud their courageous stance.

Finally, I’m pleased to announce that Dennis Kucinich has returned.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich waited until Democrats had won last November’s health care reform vote before casting his ballot against it on the House of This time around — pressured by everyone from President Obama to Moveon.org — the Cleveland Democrat had no luxury to dawdle before taking a stance. He announced at a Capitol news conference this morning that he’ll vote "yes" on the bill’s latest draft.

"I have doubts about the bill," Kucinich said. "This is not the bill I wanted to support. . . However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, my wife Elizabeth and close friends, I’ve decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation."

Bill opponents pounced quickly. Said an e-mail alert from the National Republican Congressional Committee: "Left-wing icon flips from ‘No,’ exposes so-called moderates."

Kucinich’s move came after months of insisting he’d oppose the bill because it doesn’t do enough to curtail insurance company abuses. Kucinich advocates bolstering Medicare and expanding its coverage to include all Americans.

But he acknowledged this morning that his choice now is to either vote "no" on principle, and thereby possibly block the biggest (though imperfect) advance in health coverage in decades, or compromise for the good of the estimated 30 million more Americans who could gain insurance.

"I have taken this fight further" than many other Congress members, Kucinich said, citing his two presidential campaigns in which he advocated universal coverage and his bill introduction and other attempts in the House to get single-payer insurance… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Common Dreams>

I didn’t know whether Dennis would come around or not.  He can be uncompromisingly stubborn when it comes to principle, especially when he’s right.  Single-payer, such as Medicare for all is the ultimate fix America needs.  But we can’t get there from here.  This is the best we’re going to get right now.  As we have improved the original Social Security and Medicare, we shall improve this too.  I’m glad Dennis saw the wisdom in that and congratulate him on his decision.

I expect this bill to pass.