The folks over at Red State certainly are feeling rather triumphant about the death of health care reform. They are taunting the Democrats, asking them to attempt reconciliation:
Senator DeMint has made it clear — and Senator Hatch too — the gloves come off this time in the Senate. It will be a movable feast (to use Dodd’s phrase from the NYT story above) of non-germane amendments and every tough health care vote that is conceivable.
Walking the plank for the Dems will become daily, Senate-seat killing affair.
This time, the tough and creative and merciless will be running the repeated flank-attack-by-amendment and Senate floor ambushes. The most effective weapons will not be declared off-limits. Now, weapons are hot and the GOP Delta forces are praying the Dems walk again through their pre-set mortar firing solutions and, under fire, fall back to the only place where there is any cover, only to find M-18 claymores waiting. (As in, yeah, we thought that’s where you’d run to.)
The Dems will be treated to months of pain and suffering, as they try to burrow down deep for safety, they will slowly lose their cool and will find themselves in an even worse political posture by GOP arc-light strikes.
It will remind the public that the Dems are not listening and really don’t care what the public thinks, while they cheer the Republicans on. The stunning NPR finding of a plus five generic ballot advantage for Republicans — plus ten for those most likely to vote — will spike upwards.
Sounds like a lot of brave talk aimed at scaring the Democrats into doing exactly what Red State really wants, which is a final victory when the Democrats declare the effort at health care reform over.
Well, I am sure the activist Dem base is ready for this fight and our QB has a pretty good trash talking game that can fire his troops up and piss off the opposing team but the million dollar question, will he actually lead the fight with actions? Obama’s presidency, Dem majorities, and lives of the uninsured are riding on this decision.
Giving new meaning to the term Keyboard Kommandos.
Priceless advice here for the Dems: Don’t try burrowing down deep for safety. Stand up and fight these pompous little boys and you’ll sweep the series.
from people who probably never served.
Our secret weapon, if we use it. A minor change in the age of eligibility for Medicare and a PAYGO tax provision to cover it, passed through reconciliation and clearly within the Byrd rule. Probably five pages of legislation. Unfortunately there is too much corruption and cowardice (“thy name is Blanche Lincoln and Evan Bayh”) among the Democrats in Congress to be that bold.
But if passed and sent to his desk, would Barack Obama veto it because it tampers with one-sixth of the economy?
You have to admit that leaving tens of millions of Americans uninsured, leaving doctors, hospitals, and states with the burden of dealing with them, letting private insurers continue with recissions and rip-off rate hikes, and employers in the position of having to drop increasingly unaffordable coverage is cause for triumphalism and rejoicing.
45,000 uninsured Americans must die every year so that the Republican Party may live.
It’s no wonder vampire movies are so popular these days. Even the color is right.
I was conversing with an ex-boss the other day. He is European, but working in this country for about 40 years.
He told me that he recently had some work done on his house and conversed with one of the workmen. This guy has no health insurance at all but opposes the idea of a government health care plan, because “that would be wrong”. Quoting my ex-boss,”So this guy prefers having no health care for himself to having a government plan. How do they manage to brainwash these guys?”