As promised the House repealed Obamacare by a 245 to 189 vote with three Democrats joining Republicans in seeking an end to this unconstitutional, destructive law which explodes government, illegally mandates health care and destroys the greatest health care system in the world. Many call this only, "symbolic," because it may not pass the Senate and will certainly face an Obama VETO if it gets to his desk.
In actuality the repeal is no more symbolic than any other piece of legislation that goes before the Congress since it is following the Constitutional process for passage of legislation. Now the bill heads to the Senate where Harry Reid has already stated that he will not allow it to even be debated much less come up for a vote. This has just added fuel to the, "symbolic," gesture fire. Of course the claim is again out of line since the last Congress had 400 measures pass the House but never reaching the Senate for a vote and not one of those was considered symbolic.
Media pundits are spinning that Reid will not let the House passed repeal go before the Senate as a way of belittling the measure or showing that it means nothing. But the real reason, I believe, goes much deeper and the smoke screen by Reid and his liberal media friends is hiding the fear that Reid has over what will happen if the bill reaches the Senate floor.
Obamacare is extremely unpopular with the American people. Even the more liberal polling venues show repealing it favored by the majority of Americans. We are in the beginning of the 2012 election cycle and one third of the Senate comes up for reelection as is the case every two years. This cycle though is a problem for Democrats as two thirds of those up for reelection are Dems while only one third are Republicans.
After the shellacking Democrats took in the 2010 mid term those in the Senate who have to face voters in 2012 are concerned for their political survival. As such with the extremely unpopular Obamacare possibly facing a vote for repeal in the Senate and Republicans having a nearly balanced field now in voting power, Reid faces a Democrat caucus that understands the ramifications of voting to keep an unpopular law in place.
Even with an obvious Presidential VETO were the repeal to pass the Senate, newly elected Democrat Senators like WV's Manchin who campaigned against Obamacare and those facing reelection may very well join Republicans in voting for repeal thus handing Reid a defeat that he does not want. So the best way to prevent an uncertain out come is to keep the bill from going before the Senate.
Reid may be talking a rope a dope game but his fears the uncertain out come since he does not have the total control over the Senate he had in the last Congress. So rather than face the embarrassment of losing the vote he prevents it from ever happening. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is calling Reid's bluff and already positioning for the vote process by assigning Committee members etc.
This battle is not yet over. Even if Reid loses this and is forced to take the bill to the Senate for a vote, Obama will VETO it. But the damage to the law will already be done as the Congress will have voted for repealing the bill in accordance to the will of the American people. The House has already indicated that if repeal fails they will use their financial Constitutional authority to starve the law to death by defunding each aspect of it as it comes up for implementation.
So the hallmark of the Obama agenda is facing either a quick death by repeal which is not likely. A slow starvation over the next two years until it can be fully repealed by the next Congress and the Republican replacement in The White House for Obama and continued court challenges to add to the already unconstitutional ruling with 26 States now signing on to eliminate the law by judicial defeat. Obamacare is facing death no matter how one looks at it. The only thing left is the time and the means of it demise.
Ken Taylor
One of my liberal friends has said that this vote to repeal the law was a waste of time and all a big show... I told him something that he certainly didn't agree with or want to hear. It's a strategic move to have this vote even if it doesn't pass (and as it turns out, it did...).
ReplyDeleteThe issue is important to both sides and the vote "pins down" legislators... It forces them to declare themselves (one way or the other) on the issue and when the heat gets worse, as more and more Americans begin to object to Obamacare, and they try and equivocate, they will get burned... Their vote will be "on the record" and they won't be able to dodge the bullet... The vast majority want this law overturned now and they (the political class) know it. By forcing the vote and passing the bill in the House, the ball is now firmly in the Senate's court. If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ignores the call for a vote, if he refuses even to debate the issue, there will be hell to pay... Currently, in 2012, the Democrats are expected to have 23 seats up for election, including 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats, The Republicans are expected to have 10 seats up for election. Based on the results from the last election, the Democrats lost far more than the Republicans. If the issues are the same in 2012 (and I believe they will be...) and the Democrats become the "Party of NO" by denying debate and votes on bills in the Senate. Then the Dems will suffer for it badly, possibly even worse than they did this last go around. Also, there is the issue of redistricting which will also make re-election for Obama or for any Democrat in 2012 more difficult. So, in short, it isn't pointless. Victory is not measured just in clear wins in floor votes, but in what potential damage can be done to the opposition long term. Having worked in several campaigns, you learn those things... It's political jujitsu...