Posted on 03/04/2010 1:27:51 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Yesterday they needed 216 to pass it, now they need 217. Like Ace says: Nomentum.
U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal will delay his resignation from Congress by three weeks, citing intense pressure from House Republican leaders to remain and vote against President Barack Obama’s plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system…
News of Deal’s decision was inadvertently broken by U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, who congratulated Deal on his decision.
On Monday, before 100 supporters at the Gainesville Civic Center, Deal said he would leave Congress, effective March 8, in order to devote all his time to his campaign for governor.
Obama could in theory push the vote back into April or May to wait Deal out and force him to resign before the bill comes to the floor, but after Gibbs set a deadline of March 18 for passage this morning, he’ll look like an even weaker chump than usual if he does that.
A quick Democratic head count: Shelley Berkley, who voted yes in November, is a likely no this time. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Frank Kratovil — who was named in that dopey AP piece a few days ago as a possible flip to yes — voted no last time and say they’re voting that way again. The only way to flip all three? The Senate has to pass Obama’s “fix” to Reid’s Senate bill before the House votes on anything. If they do it the other way, with the House passing Reid’s bill first, there’s a chance that reconciliation could collapse in the Senate, leaving the House stuck with the Reid bill they pretty much all hate (albeit for different reasons).
Geraghty’s been doing yeoman’s work trying to figure out precisely what has to happen for Pelosi to get to 217. According to his latest calculation, every last pro-life Democrat who’s threatening to vote no with Stupak this time would have to flip to yes; if even one of them votes no — which seems exceedingly likely — it’s all over. And that assumes that House progressives will fall in line and stick with their yes votes from November. By no means is that a sure thing; remember, Raul Grijalva says he’s “pretty certain” that several liberals are ready to walk away this time. In fact, Roll Call claims they were pestering The One at last night’s White House health-care huddle about possibly reviving, er, the public option. Good luck with that, champ. The long and short of it is, unless I’ve missed a story somewhere, not a single Democrat who voted no before has committed to flipping to yes this time. The momentum is entirely the other way.
Why does this guy even have to resign at all?
Heck, 0bama run for president of the entire country and still never resigned from the US Senate till he was about to rake office. This fool just doesn't get it. This vote is about the end of America as we know it. Where does the Republican Party keep picking up these dunderheads from anyways? They have no clue about the strategic importance of anything. It's all about him, and screw everyone else. What a selfish fellow.
Pelosi: Lawmaker healthcare concerns can be satisfied---REALLY?
***********************************EXCERPT********************************
Thu Mar 4, 12:15 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she was confident of satisfying Democratic concerns about a Senate-approved healthcare bill and passing the measure.
Pelosi made the comment at her weekly news conference -- just hours after one lawmaker said a dozen House Democrats opposed to abortion were willing to kill the legislation unless it satisfies their demand for language barring federal funding of the procedure.
Their threat to kill healthcare reform came a day after President Barack Obama launched a final push to pass the overhaul, a top domestic priority, and urged Democrats in Congress to vote on the bill this month, even without Republican support.
Pelosi voiced confidence that Democrats will prevail over what she said was Republican obstructionism and win passage of landmark legislation that Obama will sign into law.
Oh how I love to see the pubs act with conviction.
I mock them when they don’t, when they man the tanning booths and pray for DC cocktail party invites. I poke fun at their perfectly coiffed hair where not one strand should ever leave its appointed place and, of course, the perfectly polished nails. But naturally I curse and moan that exercise the Senate pubs practice with zeal, this reaching across the aisle.
Thus i must jump for joy at this effort. The pubs are sticking it out and I know their knees are shaking.
HANG IN THERE PUBS. IF THE HEAD HAIRS GET MUSSED, WE FORGIVE.
My reasons for saying that Pelosi will not call for a vote unless she knows it will pass are these:
You can't call it up twice. Once defeated it is dead. So if she calls it up to a sure defeat that is the end for ObamaCare 2010.
There is the real risk that post the November elections you will have a lot of lame duck Dems who would have voted NO but will give one for the team on their way out and vote YES and Obamacare will pass sometime in late November or early December. If Pelosi votes now and loses she will not have the opportunity to test that idea out.
Demagoguery. Signs of delusion, grandeur, and insanity. The man child throws a hissy fit and a tantrum cause he can't get his way.
Let him try that, and he will swiftly find out this is not Zimbabwe or his fatherland Kenya.
LOL!
The House must pass the Senate bill first. The Senate cannot reconcile with no exact bill in the other chamber.
There is even question as to whether BO has to sign the Senate bill into law (assuming the House votes for the Senate bill as is) b4 they take up any reconciliation measure.
If he waits, he’ll probably pick up a couple of new democrat votes from special elections, but who knows if they will be willing to sacrifice their careers immediately for health care?
I don’t even care if he never shows up for work again, except to vote no on the bill.
They can’t really set the deadline back to April or May because they have to declare by April 1, I believe, to use reconciliation. If they don’t then the jig is up. The threat of reconciliation is only a ploy by Reid, Pelosi, and Obama to buy off House votes for the passage of the senate bill.
It took a speech from 0bama before he realized the Democrats were going to try and use the nuclear option to push through 0bamacare after Scott Brown won?
What planet has he been living on?
If this guy leaves the House, and it turns out that it was his missing vote, that gave this country the abomination of 0bamacare, we can assure him, that we will do everything possible to make him lose his governorship bid.
Actually, I don’t think Obama really cares about one or the other, so he’d have no reason to veto reconciliation.
The people who care are the senators who are getting screwed by Reid (who gave Reid 60 votes in exchange for things in the bill that Reid now says he can REMOVE with 50 votes).
And the house, which has to approve the Senate bill as-is, knowing that whatever Reid promises them, they can’t make him do it, and realising that if Reid promises a reconciliation bill, Reid will be screwing his friends in the Senate to do so.
If you were a house member, and you knew Reid had to screw somebody, would you bet that he’d screw other senate members, or you?
It’s tradition.
But, you are right....you don’t have to resign as far as I know.
Frankly, he should stay just to gum up the works.
“Let him try that, and he will swiftly find out this is not Zimbabwe or his fatherland Kenya.”
In my head I have this image of a clock. Similar to the Doomsday Clock. I call it the CW2 Clock and the time is 11:58. Take it however you want to.
So many of the people need our prayers....Stand up for what is right, for truth.
But it would be a good strategy for all of us to tell the democrats in the house that we will vote for them if they vote down the health bill.
My guess is that the fundraising rules for Governor of his state are more relaxed then the rules he must follow while he is in Congress.
I have heard that there is a risk after the elections, but I just don’t buy it. I really do not think the pro-life Dems will suddenly say heck with it an vote for it just because they lost.
Pelosi has been voicing confidence pretty much constantly, so I don’t think she has the votes. If she had the votes, she would say “we are having a vote tonight at 1am.”
You make an interesting point.
It does seem possible that the Senate could take up a Reconciliation Bill before Obama signs the original bill into law. But they couldn't pass it until he does. Given that this is the case it opens up the possibility that Obama could promise to veto the Senate bill if there is no subsequent Reconciliation Bill passed by the House and the Senate. That would be done as an inducement to get the House to pass the original Senate Bill.
Would Obama do that? Would the affected Congressman trust him? Would the Republicans stall the reconciliation process indefinitely? What would the voters think of this spectacle? This is almost as good as Edgar Allan Poe and Sherlock Holmes. Where's the popcorn maker?
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