What a terrible choice House members will have to make this weekend. No, not
whether to vote up or down on healthcare reform, but whether to watch CBS and
that NCAA basketball tournament or turn on the news channels for that other
March Madness.
It's a dilemma for all of us. Imagine how President Barack Obama must feel. Already
he has had to cancel his Asia vacation because of healthcare, although come to
think of it, maybe that was just a handy excuse for him to stay home to watch
some hoops.
My bet is that the healthcare bill passes by two votes.
However, it would be worth the entertainment and revelation value, if the healthcare
bill is defeated, to watch healthcare stocks crash to the bottom of the sea.
They have soared to the sky because of the bill, which, whatever its merits or demerits,
is a "get rich quick" scheme for healthcare companies.
The president is telling the American people, “Trust me. Expanding the size and
scope of the federal government by a couple of trillion dollars over the next 10
years is good for the federal deficit.”
The president is telling the Democrats in the House, “Trust me. I will get the
Senate to pass your request list through reconciliation. I will even send old
Joe Biden to the upper chamber to overrule the parliamentarian if I have to, so
we can get that thing done.”
Healthcare reform seems to have finally found a head of
steam. I just heard House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) talk up the new
"bill" we have all been waiting for, which the Congressional Budget
Office says will save more than $100 billion over the next decade. Armed with
her promising CBO score, Pelosi brought Dr. Ed Morris, a small-business
owner from North Carolina, to the microphone so he could implore Rep.
Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) to vote for the bill.
David Brooks wrote an interesting column in which he pointed out that members
of Congress, and especially the Senate, are not able to connect personally to write
legislation and solve America’s pressing problems. He attributes this to being
confined to warring camps, little interaction to resolve issues in the Senate
“club” and a change in the dynamic.
Many have griped for a while about the lack of comity, the decrease in a
“family-friendly” Congress, the increased propensity of members to campaign not
just vigorously, but negatively, against one another. They have become less
colleagues and more competitors, less policymakers and more gladiator politicians.
The healthcare debate has degenerated into a civil war among
progressives and Democrats full of threats and retaliation. I am calling for this
to vote to be treated as a vote of conscience and for all threats to end immediately.
This matter is fully discussed in my piece published by OpEd News today.
On March 2, the Institute for Education invited Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan
Poneman to speak at an IFE policy roundtable. Hosted by IFE Diplomatic Steward
and Belgium Ambassador Jan Matthysen at his residence, Poneman represented an
administration that is ambitious and hopeful, but also determined about
nuclear-arms proliferation.
Next month, the White House will host a Nuclear Security Summit, which 40 heads
of state plan to attend. Poneman gave us a glimpse into the pressing nuclear-security
issues facing the U.S. and the world.
Did you ever see such a bunch of whiners in your life?
Now that it looks certain Democrats will have the votes to pass healthcare
reform, Republicans are again whining about the process.
First, they accused Senate Democrats of foul play by planning to approve the
bill with 51 votes — even though majority rule, not the filibuster, is the way
the Senate is supposed to do business. Now they’re accusing House Democrats of
breaking the rules by considering the use of “deem and pass,” instead of voting
up or down on the Senate bill. Which is another red herring.
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