Picture this, you are U.S. Senator and a Democrat. You come from a moderate to conservative State. Your re-election is by no means a foregone conclusion. You saw what happened in ’94 and you know it can happen again. You also know that the country is enormously concerned with out of control spending and massive government encroachment. Regardless of the spin your colleagues post election, you know that the public just sent a message, knock it off. You sense the truth, backlash is building.
So now, as a Democrat Senator, you are faced with the House plan for a government takeover of healthcare. Nancy Pelosi had the luxury of allowing 39 of her colleagues in vulnerable districts to vote against the bill for cover. You will not be so lucky. Every single Democrat Senator will need to vote for the Senate version in order to get cloture. There is no get out of jail free card for you.
Conventional wisdom states that abortion is an issue in the House but not in the Senate but you know that conventional wisdom is completely wrong in this case. Abortion is everything. The House version of the bill had the Stupak amendment prohibiting federal funds for abortion. You know that such an amendment will not be introduced in the Senate. When the bill is being reconciled in conference, the Stupak amendment will likely be struck. In fact, over 40 pro-abortion reps in the house have said if it is not struck, they will vote against final passage. Unless it pays for abortion, there is no deal.
Conversely, the House bill passed only because of the Stupak amendment and then only by 3 votes. If the Stupak language is struck in conference, in all likelihood at least three of the 65 Dems ( and probably more) who voted for Stupak will bail on the final bill. It only takes a few.
So with abortion in, the bill is dead. Take it out and it is probably dead anyway. So why should I, a Democrat Senator up for re-election, vote for an unpopular bill that my opponent in 2010 will hang around my neck like a millstone when chances are it will fail when it goes back to the House? Answer? I shouldn’t and I won’t. The risk is too high. Best to let the thing die before ever being voted on in the Senate. I am not going to risk re-election by voting for this thing when it will never make final passage. No, not me. I think I will feign concern over the cost and such and maybe, just maybe, I will survive the backlash. Afterall, surviving is priority number one.
And that my friends is how Obamacare might die. Pray.
November 10, 2009 at 3:35 am
Praying.
November 10, 2009 at 4:01 am
The Stupak ammendment will make abortion more inaccessible than it has ever been since Roe v. Wade and you want to pray for the failure of the bill that contains it?
Hmmmm…
November 10, 2009 at 4:15 am
Craig,
Are you really that stupid?
November 10, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I hope and pray that Obamacare will die the death you predict.
November 10, 2009 at 4:52 pm
If the health bill ever passes, it's highly unlikely that the Stupak amendment will survive, and even if it does, when the federal government takes over health care, the liberals will find a way to fund abortion (just as homosexuals and sex-ed advocates have succeeded in getting their programs for even the youngest students approved and funded in public schools). Abortion isn't the only bad thing about this bill, as the writers of this blog and many commenters already understand. We'll be praying, too. I'm hoping that state by state will decide in favor of the personhood of the unborn, which would undo the so-called "reproductive right" granted by Roe v. Wade. And the more people out there sharing the truth about abortion to those who've been brainwashed into accepting the lies liberals tell, the better. May God help each and all of us to do His will in the world.
November 10, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Craig, there's more than just abortion to be concerned about, even if the Stupak Amendment had a chance of surviving the reconciliation process. There is no conscience protection for doctors and pharmacists. There are major concerns about end-of-life care. There's the problem of mandated health insurance coverage. There's concern about long-term impacts of the public option. Aren't you one who is regularly harping on the fact that abortion is not the only issue we should consider?
If a bill does one good thing but 5 bad things, it doesn't make sense to support it for the one good thing. Compromise with evil still allows evil to occur. Should I support a law that strengthens law enforcement but at the same time removes the appeals process for death row inmates and allows the state to use prisoners for medical experiments?
November 10, 2009 at 7:03 pm
From your lips to God's ears… may this infernal bill go down in flames!
November 11, 2009 at 3:02 pm
One can certainly hope! There is always hope…