Dear America...

Dear America,

I hope you’re enjoying the process of becoming a banana republic.

If you’re one of the naifs who voted for Barack Obama, you probably hear the term “banana republic” and think that I’m talking about a fascist clothing store where capitalist fat cats sell garments made in Chinese sweat shops to spoiled American suburbanites.

There’s another kind of banana republic. “Banana republic” is a pejorative term that is used to refer to a country that is politically unstable and dependent on limited resources (e.g. bananas).

In their haste to seize control of a huge portion of America’s economy (a portion that is as large as the entire nation of Great Britain), Barry, Harry and Nancy are setting precedents that will undermine the stability of the political framework of los Estados Unidos.

Congress and the president have dismissed the concerns of the great majority of American voters. The Constitution, the very document from which “leaders” in Washington derive their power, has been brushed aside.

The U.S. Federal Government is on a precipice…entertaining brazen plans to amend a law that doesn’t exist yet by passing a bill without voting on it. This law is unpopular and unconstitutional. It is packed with bribes and built on a foundation of lies and broken promises. Dependency, helplessness and crony capitalism will be the inevitable and irreversible consequences of this legislation.

ObamaCare reeks of sulfur. The product of one-party rule, it’s full of sleazy accounting tricks. The Democrats’ health care bill is a giant gimmick wrapped in deceit and shrouded with chicanery.

I, for one, look forward to the rise of America’s new health care overlords. The day ObamaCare passes will be a great day in the history of banana republics.

Your comrade,

Hugo Chavez

Will House Democrats Take the Bait?

"The White House may renege on passing fixes to the Senate's healthcare bill once the House has passed it, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) claimed Thursday.

"'They're using reconciliation to pass the great big bill,' Gregg said during an appearance on CNBC. 'Once they pass the great big bill, I wouldn't be surprised if the White House didn't care if reconciliation passed. I mean, why would they?'"

...

"Bait and switch, baby. It’s not like the unsuspecting and unprepared Democrats haven’t already seen plenty of that already.

"'The plan, as it comes from the Senate, hangs out every Democrat who’s running for office to dry...'"

...

"The focus on reconciliation in the past few days confuses things a bit. The question in the health-care debate at the moment is whether Nancy Pelosi can get enough of her members to vote for the version of Obamacare that passed the Senate late last year...

"Some liberal House Democrats have problems with that bill — especially with some of its tax provisions, though also a few other things...

"But that amending bill wouldn’t change the basic character of what would be enacted (and to the extent it would change it at the edges, it would be mostly for the worse): Either way, if the House passes the Senate bill then Obamacare would become law..."

...

"House members would be left holding the bag. Target squarely on their chests, they would now get to face their fuming constituents after having passed a $2.5 trillion bill that would allow public funding of abortion, would send $100 million to Nebraska, $300 million to Louisiana, $100 million to Connecticut, would exempt South Florida's Medicare Advantage enrollees from annual $2,100 cuts in Medicare Advantage benefits, would raise taxes, raise deficits, raise health costs, empower Washington, reduce liberty, politicize medicine, and jeopardize the quality of health care. Most of all, they would feel the citizenry's wrath for having voted to pass a bill that only 25 percent of Americans support.

"Right now, the House holds all the power over ObamaCare."

...

"It should be noted, the possibility remains the House could pass the Senate bill at any point this year including in a lame duck session between the midterms and the opening of a new Congress. The Senate bill remains live until this session closes in December so the possibility exists that the Senate bill could be signed into law at any point this year."

ObamaCare Strategery

The Dems are floating a potential schedule for passing ObamaCare in the next few weeks. It might not be realistic, but it is informative:

1. March 3: Obama lays out a package that will bridge the difference between the House and Senate health care bills.
2. March 4-19: A summary of Obama's proposal will be turned into legislative language. Congressional leaders will begin looking for votes.
3. March 19: The House passes the Senate’s health care bill. The bill then goes to the straight to Obama's desk for signature. ObamaCare becomes the law of the land. Senate Democrats will make some kind of promise to House leadership that they will pass a package of fixes through the reconciliation process.
4. March 21: The House amends the Senate bill with a reconciliation bill.
5. March 23: The Senate begins debate on the reconciliation bill.
6. Voting begins March 26, the first day of Easter recess, at which point Reid announces that the Senate will stay in session through recess to consider all amendments.
7. Before March 29: Vote on final passage follows consideration of the last amendment.

Important items to note:

• In this scheme, the House moves first. The Senate is not going to move unless forced to do so.
• The issue of Reconciliation only comes up after ObamaCare has already been signed into law.
• The third step in the sequence is the only one that matters. This is where you loose your health care freedom. Game over.
• The third step does not need to follow the first two steps. The third step does not require any subsequent steps.
• In this sequence, reconciliation is superfluous.

On December 24, the Senate passed the best health care bill that it could come up with. Since then, the House has had almost 10 weeks to pass that bill and send it to Obama. If House Democrats had any intention of passing the Senate bill, wouldn't they have passed it already? Democrats know they don't have time to waste. This is an election year and the economy is in the dump. And ObamaCare isn't becoming more popular as time passes.

The schedule outlined above is insane. Even if ObamaCare 3.0 can be hastily translated into palatable legislative language in the next 17 days, it would then need to be analyzed by the CBO. Leery house Dems aren't going to move forward until they've seen a price tag.

Again, all this speculation is founded on the assumption that the House can somehow pass the Senate bill after having sat on it for 3 months...as if they've been waiting for a miracle all this time. What miracle? On cue, the left-wing Polyannas:

Obama, Reid and Pelosi are are feverishly working behind the scenes on a brilliant 'sidecar bill' for reconciliation [ObamaCare 3.0]. The sidecar bill will include the super-incredible public option and lots of other magically delicious stuff. If Obama dangles the sidecar bill in front of House Democrats like a carrot on a stick, Team Pelosi will step out in blind faith and pass Reid's abysmally unpopular bill.

Obviously, House Dems aren't gullible enough for that. They understand that Nancy Pelosi is prepared to sacrifice vulnerable Democrats in order to achieve her goals. In light of Nancy's indifference to their dilemma, House Dems know for sure that if they pass the Senate bill, the Senate will not feel obligated to change the bill in ways that will help the peons of the lower chamber.

If House Democrats pass the Senate's version of the health care bill, and if the Senate doesn't have the time, votes or inclination to return to its own vomit, House Dems would then be on the hook for all the bill's flaws, and there would be no guarantee that any of the flaws would get fixed before the November elections.

The Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, prison sentences for failure to comply with the individual mandate, tax dollars for abortion, loopholes for illegals, new taxes on union health care plans... There would be a lot of great material for some really sweet GOP campaign ads.

More

Rep. Steny Hoyer proposed an alternative sequence today. Are we officially a banana republic now?

Reconciliation Math: The problem is in the House, not the Senate.

Keith Hennessy: Challenges of the Two Bill Strategy

Obama "open" to the idea of putting some lipstick on his pig

Republican Compares Obama To Snooki

Milton Friedman - Socialized Medicine

Left Coast Rebel: "Coffee Party" astroturfers exposed