January 15, 2010

Democracy Inaction

Hatched by Dafydd

Could this be the magic "exit strategy" for the Democrats to extract themselves from mounting voter opposition to ObamaCare from all sides? Here is my late-night, bleary-eyed scenario:

  1. The Democrats deliberately drag out discussions on the House-Senate compromise bill.
  2. They hope and pray that Republican Scott Brown beats Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts senatorial election. (Actually, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee can ensure Coakley's defeat by forcing her to campaign where voters can see her, rather than in smoke-filled rooms with lobbyists.)
  3. Assuming Brown wins, the DSCC could lean hard on Massachusetts election officials to certify the election ASAP; if necessary, a couple of SEIU mafiosi can sit on Coakley's head until certification, to prevent her from trying to sue her way into the U.S. Senate.
  4. After certification and Brown's official seating in the Senate, congressional Democrats quickly finish the bill and submit it to the full Senate.
  5. Scott Brown makes good his threat to vote against cloture, becoming the 41st and determinative vote.
  6. The bill dies, everybody's face is saved -- "We did everything we could! It's those darned Republicans!" -- and Democrats can spend 2010 bemoaning the "obstructionist" GOP, rather than having to defend a government-run health-care scheme that everybody hates, Left and Right alike.

It's a win-win scenario! I wonder if the majority is already considering it?

Puckishly cross-posted on Hot Air's rogues' gallery...

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, January 15, 2010, at the time of 1:04 PM

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Could this be the magic “exit strategy” for the Democrats to extract themselves from mounting voter opposition to ObamaCare from all sides? Here is my late-night, bleary-eyed scenario: The Democrats deliberately drag out discussions on th... [Read More]

Tracked on January 15, 2010 12:39 PM

Comments

The following hissed in response by: JSchuler

IS the majority considering it? Let's check... Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are still in charge... plan requires a modicum of self awareness and strategic thinking...

Nope, they aren't considering it.

The above hissed in response by: JSchuler [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 16, 2010 4:58 PM

The following hissed in response by: snochasr

Of course they're not considering it, JS is right. That may, however, be exactly what happens, and I predict it will go badly for them. The scenario is: They cannot possibly have something done and scored by the CBO until Wednesday, after the election. If Brown wins, they'll know it, and they then have ten days before he can be certified and claim his seat in which to do a nose count and see if they have the votes to pass this thing that the voters hate, after the voters of Mass. have PROVEN that it's a loser. At that point, they will either decide to hasten it through the Senate (stalling Brown if necessary), if they still have the 60 votes (not at all assured), or to wait for Brown and start the voting in the Senate knowing there will be 41 votes against and "preserving the issue" for November. Please, please, throw us in that briar patch. It would be wonderful if the Dems would be reminding voters all through October how Republicans barely stopped them from passing this monstrosity.

There is one possibility, but I doubt it will ever occur to them. If they were to give the House everything it wants, so they could get a simple majority there, they could use reconciliation-- 51 votes-- to squeeze it through the Senate, maybe. If Brown wins and they adopt that strategy, it will be that much worse for them.

The above hissed in response by: snochasr [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 16, 2010 5:38 PM

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