I’m starting to despair that no one in the media has any idea what they are talking about. I get why Republicans are trying to portray the passage of health care reform as some betrayal of principles or the tyranny of the majority, but it’s not.
Using reconciliation is not “ramming it through”.
Look – the bill has already passed through the Senate. It got 60 votes. It’s done. Was that ramming it through?
Now, let’s say the House of Representatives passes the Senate bill, by a majority. Is that ramming it through?
And then, the President signs the bill – passed by both houses of Congress. Is that ramming it through?
No, it’s not. It’s how laws (that overcome filibusters) are supposed to pass. And then we would have health care reform. No reconciliation. No “ramming it through”.
That’s what the Democrats plan to do.
The bill will expand Medicaid, set up the exchanges, put in place an excise tax, establish subsidies, increase regulation – and everything else it’s supposed to do. No reconciliation. No ramming.
BUT – the House of Representatives and the Presiedent want to make some tweaks. They want to delay and change the excise tax. They want to increase the subsidies. They want to add in another tax. THAT’S what will go through reconciliation.
If the Republicans and the media want to outlaw reconciliation, health care reform could STILL PASS. The House of Representatives can vote, and the President can sign. Then we would just have the Senate bill as law. But no one is saying that. They are claiming that the only way the bill passes at all is if it all goes through reconciliation.
That’s not true. Stop saying it.
