The GOP can bring the senate to a standstill by refusing to grant unanimous consent to bring business forward. They can demand, again by refusing unanimous consent, that each and every bill – including the ‘health care’ monstrosity – be read aloud. The dems can bypass a filibuster with the 51-vote nuclear option, but the republicans can mount a virtual filibuster by taking advantage of the unanimous consent rule, and all it takes is one senator to do it.

wright on November 9, 2009 at 3:20 PM

This is from Ed of Hot Air about reconciliation(i.e. Nuclear Option): Under the rules of reconciliation, no cloture vote is needed, as the chamber has a Constitutional duty to produce a budget. Some Democrats have threatened this for months, notably Chuck Schumer, but the plan has a couple of big flaws. First, the Democrats have to convince the Senate parliamentarian, ostensibly non-partisan, to agree that the bill is primarily budgetary. No one in their right mind could honestly make that judgment about massive regulation of 15% of the American economy. They’re likely to get denied before they even get started.
However, if they do manage to get past that obstacle, the Republicans can shut down the Senate for the next year. Those unfamiliar with the parliamentary procedure may not realize that a great many steps get skipped by unanimous consent. Bill-reading is just one example. One Senator can force each and every bill to be read aloud at every appearance it makes on the Senate floor, including when they are sent to committee. For ObamaCare and cap-and-trade, one bill reading could take a week, keeping the Senate floor locked off from any other business.
Traditionally, Senators give each other the courtesy of unanimous consent to allow business to proceed at a normal pace. If the Democrats try to force ObamaCare through reconciliation, that unanimous consent will dissipate faster than an Obama expiration date. It won’t take the entire Republican caucus to gum up the works, either; it only takes a single objection to end unanimous consent, and the GOP has more than a couple of conservative firebrands who will gladly toss sand in the gears to stop Harry Reid from steamrolling them.
Democrats might think that this will gain them sympathy with the public, but not if they’re breaking rules to pass an increasingly unpopular and intrusive piece of legislation. It will create a firestorm of anger even worse than what we’ve seen in the townhalls thus far. They would be signing their way to minority status, especially in the House. They can kiss the rest of their agenda goodbye for the rest of this session, too, including cap-and-trade. Even budgeting will prove very difficult.

The first Quote is the only other person to mention the Unanimous Consent principle. Ed mentioned it in his post which I quoted above from August?. The pubic option is dead as a door nail in the Senate. I can think of at least a half a dozen Senator who will NOT WAIVE the unanimous consent principle. The other part of Lieberman quote which is not mentioned is the size of the debt. The debt and the deficit are the real killers to anything getting done.

When was the last time a fed bureaucracy was dissolved?

The Pelosi Poison Pill creates 111 of the damn things!

Look up the history of the “federal excise tax” – just *how* long after the war it was originally put in place to pay for had ended was it first repealed?

Kendra is exactly right here – the Dem playbook is to go long when they’re in charge, and then defend every inch. They know the Repubs are a divided team and suck on defense.

Further, the Dems know they’ll be aided and abetted in defense by statist (i.e. big-government) Repubs who, despite having an R after their names, have no interest in small government.

Truly, this is a depressing day.

Mew

p.s. to Vince – I am working to oppose this, but part of that is to educate people about the actual game. If we decide to go after each other, we do Pelosi’s work for her, eh?

As far as counting on Sen. Lieberman to stop the bill, I think one’s fooling himself holding out for that since he has in the past already indicated support for a public option. It sounds like he’s using this as a negotiating ploy.

I hate to be a sad sack but my take is that the “fix” is in for some form of mandatory Universal Healthcare to will have loop holes for abortion, illegal immigrants and a public option.

If I were a Democrat – I’d be saying … “WTF?? Why are we following this Obama dude off the cliff? He hasn’t accomplished a damn thing and he won’t have our backs in the next election – look what happened to Corzine in New Jersey”.

HondaV65 on November 9, 2009 at 5:45 PM

True enough, especially in the Senate, which is as far as most of these guys will ever go. I worry about deals that “can’t be refused” being made for just a few that could seal the deal, though. An ambassadorship in a cushy country with lots of [insert gender of Senator's preference here]? Cabinet position in a 2nd Obama Administration? Head of a gigantic division of the health care bureaucracy? Robert Byrd-esque ‘highway to nowhere’ earmarks?

But in the interest of helping people avoid heart attacks – let me say – the Public Option IS dead. It died back in July / August.

The thing is – you can always count on a politician to protect his skin – no matter what party he’s in. There are exceptions to this rule – like idealistic members of the House who haven’t been around long – yeah – some of those will follow “Pied Piper” Pelosi off a cliff but …

Not in the Senate – where the REAL political snakes are.

Trust me on this – there’s a plethora of Democratic Congressmen who are thanking GOD for Joe Lieberman – because he’s going to keep them from having to vote FOR a public option that will kill their careers.

I dare say that Reid himself is thanking GOD for Lieberman – because Dingy has a re-election bid to win and he’s waaaay behind. The sooner the public option gets buried – the better for him. And he’s dieing to use Lieberman and the GOP as convenient excuses to kill it.

Look at his freakin’ bill – 10 years of taxes to pay for 5 years of health care. That’s an abortion – and even Dingy is smart enough to realize that. If he passes that s’hite – he’s sunk (though he’s prolly sunk anyway).

Have you ever seen Joe Lieberman come out and state his opposition to anything so forcefully?

I haven’t – and I think it’s because he already has some head nods from Democrats that he’s not going to be beaten up too badly for his lack of support here.

Think about it.

If I were a Democrat – I’d be saying … “WTF?? Why are we following this Obama dude off the cliff? He hasn’t accomplished a damn thing and he won’t have our backs in the next election – look what happened to Corzine in New Jersey”.

It’s clear the Obama magic is gone. Maybe the inexperienced house members don’t realize that – but the Dems in the Senate do – the moderate ones anyway.

This is dead. “A” Bill will pass – but it will be ceremonial and they’ll haul Bagdad Bob out to hail the merits and the “historic” merits of it – but it won’t really be anything of the such.

Deliver a solution to Americans in need that is reasonable, doable, and makes sense….and beat this by offering the plan that is superior.

That’s the only way. But, the one offered by GOP reps wasn’t sufficient. Can the GOP listen to the real need?

Or just keep reacting against.

AnninCA on November 9, 2009 at 4:00 PM

Come on Ann – I expect better from you. The key word here is “doable”. The plan offered by conservatives was doable. What’s wrong with “doing” that? If it somehow falls short of some needs, then we can try to address those.

But a “solution” like Obama care that overreaches, impedes on libery, overspends, is governement at its worst.

Knowing that any action taken will be irreversable, is it not wise to proceed with measured steps and with caution?

I envision a new LOB. reverse fake id to prove we are illegal to avoid the fine.imprisonment for being uninsured

There is of course the question fo just what kind of reform we can actually AFFORD right now

the GOP HR 3400 is a fine start and if people cannot be bothered to sign up for bennies for which they are entitled, then maybe we should leave people be…stop poking at everyone like anthropologists and all that

I hope someone in the GOP stirs up the coverage for illegal aliens issue, too.

Wethal on November 9, 2009 at 3:41 PM

Yes, the House completely caved to the demands of the Hispanic caucus and made sure that the bill they passed contains no citizenship or ID requirements. So if this POS passes, US taxpayers will be funding all sorts of healthcare for every foreigner who manages to make it across the border. But hey, we’re only Trillions of dollars in the hole already. So why not force US taxpayers to fund more comprehensive healthcare for millions of poor foreigners. That’s what “social justice” is all about, right?

ZOMBIE social engineering programs are never fully dead

keep a wary eye on them while we wait for the troops to ride in in ’10…

That’s the only way. But, the one offered by GOP reps wasn’t sufficient. Can the GOP listen to the real need?

Or just keep reacting against.

AnninCA on November 9, 2009 at 4:00 PM

In all honesty, how much of the public’s support for the Dems plan is based on the hope they will get something for nothing in the deal? 50%? 60%? 99%?

Isn’t that basically the ballgame, here? People want something for nothing and think the Dems will give them that. The GOP, for all of its faults, has at least enough intellectual integrity to say that something for nothing does not exist, so we’re not going to promise it to you.

None of the math on the Dems’ promises (cutting administrative costs with a public option, cutting CEO salaries by putting civil servants in place of a CEO at the public option, cutting down paperwork with healthcare IT) works and health care costs will still rise faster than other costs UNLESS we are willing, as a society, to put a stop to healthcare innovation and, like someone buying last year’s clothes at TJ Maxx, put up with “last year’s” health care technology. Then, we’ll have commoditized health care technology at commodity prices. The problem is that medical technology is advancing so much faster than the rest of the economy, a lot of people get priced out of the latest and greatest.

I didn’t hear enough about it. It came so late.

AnninCA on November 9, 2009 at 4:38 PM

How about May 21, 2009? WSJ:
Republicans Offer Health-Care Plan

Mary in LA on November 9, 2009 at 3:34 PM

don’t use if you can help it….true libs behind that curtain