Kim addresses some of this below and here are my thoughts on the wobbling.
In the ObamaCare debate that seems to have no end it appears that there may actually be a deadline looming. The President has delayed a long scheduled trip to Asia so that he can be in town when the House votes on the Senate health care bill. If anyone doubted that the reconciliation ruse that was served up over the past two weeks was utter BS they can rest easy knowing that the only reason President Barack Obama will be in town next week is to sign the legislation House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now auctioning for everything from student loans to the pork of your choice.
Allah senses an inevitability about it all because some House Democrats have gone silent on the issue (while noting the prospect of doom for Democrats as predicted by Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen in the Washington Post) .
I’ve been skeptical until now but I’m starting to think Pelosi will get there. The fact that House Democrats don’t want to talk about their votes augurs badly, not well; given the degree of public opposition, the ones who are ready to cave have a greater incentive to lie low. Between the purple people-beaters (SEIU thugs) leaning on people and Madam Speaker sweetening the pot for recalcitrant Dems by incorporating the student-loan bill — Philip Klein notes that 34 Democrats who voted against ObamaCare voted yes for that one — there are plenty of sticks and carrots to go with the long-term strategic ambition.
The theory at work here is that because the Democrats are going to take such a severe beating in November why shouldn’t they take one for the team and vote yes on ObamaCare. Perhaps one or two progressives might view their imminent defeat and look for some future recognition as having sacrificed for bringing in European style socialism to a large part of the U S economy but the fact is that mass political suicides on precise issues are the exception not the rule. Rather, I think some of these fence sitters are seriously considering the viability of running for reelection on a platform of having opposed ObamaCare. It is a perfect anti Washington position they can take and still remain true to their previously stated opposition to the legislation. This is a much more defensible strategy than simply caving, which ensures defeat in November.
And it must be repeated that we are witnessing the most intensive full court press on a piece of legislation seen in this country since the Civil Rights Act and Medicare. The expectations game is running at full tilt so keep an eye on this next week.
Update: They guys at Powerline have a good analysis of what is at stake and the tactic of the Slaughter maneuver that anticipates a vote by the House on what it “deems” to be the Senate bill and the results of such. Notwithstanding their well established reputation for reducing complicated legal and legislative legerdemaine to understandable language, the explanation is still cloudy.
I would agree with some of our commenters here that such a device might invite civil unrest because it is an affront to the sensibilities of an electorate that has run out of patience with a political class that demonstrates no respect for boundaries.
