They Dye Has Been Cast by Ira Schwartz

"It's one of the great Bernie Madoff gimmicks that I've ever seen, that anybody's ever seen." said Senator John McCain on ABC’s “Good Morning America”. He was referring to the way Democrats were able to pass the Healthcare Bill. McCain continued, "This was behind closed doors. The Republicans were never brought in to the negotiations and this is what you get -- a split country -- where the American people are opposed to what we're doing and opposed to us."

According to the latest Gallop Poll (http://www.gallup.com/poll/124715/Majority-Americans-Not-Backing-Healthcare-Bill.aspx) 48% of Americans are against the present Healthcare reform legislation while 46% are for it. This clearly indicates how close the split in this country regarding this issue really is. However over 79% of us do agree that our legislature needs to be replaced. The congressional approval rating has dropped to a mere 21%. (http://www.gallup.com/poll/123491/Approval-Congress-Falls-21-Driven-Democrats.aspx)

When asked how he thinks the late Senator Ted Kennedy would have felt he replied, "I think that Senator Kennedy would appreciate the outcome. I don't think he would appreciate it on a party-line vote. There has never been a major reform accomplished in the history of this country that wasn't bipartisan. ... He never engaged in this kind of unsavory process of offering people different deals, which in the end cost people from other states lots of money and puts burdens on them."

As I’m sure you all know by now the Senate voted to close debate on the bill by a 60-40 vote. The 60 votes consisted of 58 Democrats and two Independents. The Republicans stood firm with their 40 members against and most if not all were as disgusted as John McCain with the whole affair.

John Cornyn, Republican from Texas warned, "There will be a day of accounting. Perhaps the first day of accounting will be Election Day 2010."

"This process is not legislation. This process is corruption," said Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican from Oklahoma. "It is a shame that the only way we can pass this legislation is to buy votes."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called provisions inserted to change Nelson's vote a "kind of smelly proposition." "This is supposed to be all of our health care ... not just for them," he said at a Capitol Hill press conference.

The Democrats showed to the country and the world the worst part of American politics and the really sad part is they are happy with this display. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and conservative Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska should be the most embarrassed for allowing themselves to be swayed by this back door diplomacy. But it’s not just Nelson’s and Lieberman that won concessions in closed-door negotiations, Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu managed to secure $300 million dollars in Medicaid funding for her state for her vote. This prompted Senator McCain to call Landrieu’s deal “The Louisiana Purchase”. Vermont, Florida and Massachusetts will also benefit from special treatment in how the federal government subsidizes state Medicaid programs. However Nelson and Lieberman’s cross over to the “Dark Side” were both very public ones and the fervor over it will not likely go away anytime soon. They have compromised their reputation and ideals and will likely pay the price in the next election.

Even though this proposed bill has passed the Senate it is still a long way from being ratified. The Senate bill and the House bill are two completely different animals. They will need to be merged into one bill that will satisfy both. That will not be an easy task as Republicans will continue to do whatever is necessary to slow the process down. Also the dissenting voices of the American people are getting louder and louder and that is making a lot of Democrats very nervous.

It appears the Democrats think they have everything under control and maybe they do but the American people are angry and the last thing you want to do is make the American people angry. The Republicans found that out in the last election as their majority was swept away. I guess in their haste to “change the world” the Democrats have forgotten that. It appears they have also forgotten they all serve at the “pleasure” of the American people. And quite frankly that “pleasure” is just about all used up. Monday night “American Movie Classics” ran one of my favorite all time movies, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” As I sat there and watched the movie for the umpteenth time I realized that politics really hasn’t changed since the 30’s when this movie was made. Truth be told it probably hasn’t changed since our “Founders” signed the Declaration of Independence. But that doesn’t make it right, it just accentuates our, the voters, complacency with how things get done.

It appears our present administration has become very skilled at; “buying votes”. Something I am sure has brought a lot of smiles to the Karzai government in Afghanistan.

© 2009 by Ira Schwartz. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Who Really Has the Courage?

Last Saturday night, in what was mostly a procedural vote, the Senate approved moving forward with debate on the health care reform bill. The vote was 60-39, the barest minimum necessary for debate to start in the Chamber. To listen to Harry Reid and his cohorts after the vote, you would think the Senate had just accomplished the greatest feat since the creation of man. What they really did was nothing . . . . . yet. (I’m sorry, maybe they did do something. It appears they bought the vote of Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana with a staggering amount of pork.)

Sometime after Thanksgiving, true debate in the Senate will begin. The pros and cons of Mr. Reid’s bill will finally be debated in front of the American public. But, will it be a true debate at all? Or, will it just be a front in which enough pork will be put into the bill to get the votes of Joe Lieberman, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, and Ben Nelson; the four Democrats who must be swayed into Harry Reid’s pack of wolves. The same pack of wolves whose intent is ruining America under the guise of health care reform.

Each of these four has told Mr. Reid, in no uncertain terms, they are not going to close debate now that it has opened, unless a few specific issues in the bill are dealt with to their satisfaction. Three of these mavericks come from right leaning states and are, frankly, worried about their jobs. One comes from a far left state: Lieberman, the distinguished Senator from Connecticut, who seems to be the only Democrat left in the Senate with any balls and brains.

The Republicans are ready to make their stand in the Senate. It seems they have been successful already in killing “Cap and Trade” there. Now, it is up to them and any one of these four rogue Democrats to succeed in destroying this nightmare health care legislation in the Senate. We only need one of them. Who from these four will be the savior of the country?

I am reminded of the famous book written by John F. Kennedy entitled “Profiles in Courage.” That book, written in the mid-1950’s, told the story of eight senators throughout history, who defied their party and/or public opinion, to do what was right and in the best interests of the country. Among those stories, is that of Senator Edmund G. Ross from Kansas who defied his party and voted for the acquittal of Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial thereby preserving the integrity of the Presidency.

Who will be the Democrat that will defy the whims of a power hungry President, the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House? Who will be the man or woman that will save this country from bankruptcy? Which of these four has the courage to buck the demands of the power elite and do what is right for America?

Senator Lieberman has said that he will not vote for any bill that has a public option. On Meet the Press yesterday, Lieberman confirmed he will support such a filibuster. He also stated that the CBO has confirmed that the proposed Senate Public Option will have higher premiums than private insurance currently does. He stated that competition among the current insurance companies is the only real solution. Will he ultimately have the courage?

Where does Mary Landrieu really stand? Is she being bought by Senator Harry Reid? The allegations are coming fast. In fact, it appears that that page 463 et seq. of the Senate version of the bill is a direct 100 million dollar bribe to the state of Louisiana. Apparently, the house bill has the same thing in it as well. Regardless, I firmly believe that Ms. Landrieu is too afraid of her job to vote against her conscience. The same is also true of Ms. Lincoln from Arkansas, except for the bribery. I too feel that she will vote her conscience when push comes to shove.

That leaves Mr. Nelson from Nebraska. Where does he really stand and can the Republicans and the rest of the country depend upon him to save the day. My answer would be yes. Even if Lieberman, Landrieu and Lincoln cave, I believe that Nelson is strong enough to tell Harry Reid and the President, “No!” He has publicly stated that he will not support a single payer public option; that he will not support publically funded abortions; and, that he will not support a bill that is not revenue neutral. Fortunately, for us Republicans, the current Senate bill includes all three.

In fact, if all of these problems with the Senate Bill were resolved to the liking of Senator Nelson, then many Republicans might actually vote for the bill as well.

So, at the end of the day, which of these four will have the courage? Who will save the United States of America? My guess is that any of the four may do it, but if that idiot from Maine votes with the Democrats, maybe we really need two of these four.

I will address particular problems with the Senate Bill later.

© 2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be freely granted upon request.