Republican leaders are all over the airways decrying Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to pass Health care reform through a legislative process known as "Reconciliation," which requires only 50 senate votes - plus Vice President Joe Biden's tie breaking vote..
I understand that politics sometimes calls for dissembling, distraction, obfuscation, and other methods of manipulation, including disingenuous invitations to a health care summit that our President knows has zero chance of bearing legislative fruit. But current Republican opposition to the use of Reconciliation to pass health care reform is either brazen amnesia or shameless hypocrisy.
Take your pick.
A few additional unsolicited thoughts? (1) Timothy Noah has a good research team. (2) Rarely have I ever encountered an issue where the lie being told is so clearly contrary to the factual record - so utterly contrary to the indisputable historical facts. It makes me wonder - how do people who lie so openly and shamelessly about matters so easily disprovable ever get people to trust them?
Remarkable!
Joe H.
UPDATE.
This Special Commentary by Keith Olberman on the health care debate is moving and poignant. I highly recommend it.
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7 comments:
Speaking of amnesia:
http://www.breitbart.tv/obama-dems-in-2005-51-vote-nuclear-option-is-arrogant-power-grab-against-the-founders-intent/
Guess it goes both ways.
Anonymous,
You are allowing Fox news to confuse you. The "Nuclear Option" crticized by Obama and the Democrats referred to a strategy to end the Filibuster altogether - at least for judicial nominees. (It was called the Nuclear Option because it was believed that the Democrats would, in response, tie the Senate in knots.
Reconciliation is not the Nuclear Option that the O5 Democrats were criticizing. You would know that if you actually read the article I linked to.
Anonymous
Just to be clear, I have not heard any of the politicians on that tape advocate the elimination of the filibuster through parlimentary procedures requiring only a simple majority vote (the so called "Nuclear Option" being discussed on the tape). That's what was at issue during the debate featured on the tape.
Democrats have criticized Repulicans for misusing the filibuster as a tool to prevent the majority from governing - which they clearly are doing, and which is unprecedented. Some Senators have, in light of this new development, proposed eliminating the filibuster through other means. But they have not reversed positions on the Nuclear Option, as far as I can tell. So the comparison is inapplicable.
Of course, Democrats do lie - Obama uttered many things during his campaign that now appear to have been lies. What I was pointing towards is the Brazen systematic lying about easily disprovable assertions. That's really something.
And again, reconcilation is not the "nuclear option." It is a legislative tool designed to prevent budget gridlock. It has, for better or worse, been used by both parties - but mainly by Republicans - to pass agenda items that could not overcome a filibuster. For Republican's to now claim that the Democrats use of reconcilation is unprecedented or improper is brazen lying.
Joe H.
Timothy Noah here. Thanks for the compliment, but (hate to break it to you) my only research team is the World Wide Web.
No research team. Well, that is really impressive! Keep up the good work Timothy.
Joe
Reconciliation is a pretty cool legislative tool - I liken it to the Democrats using a bigger shovel to dig their political graves more quickly.
Justin,
If passing health care reform costs the Democrats their legislative majority, I'll consider that a well spent majority.
If progressives don't try to achieve something that, in the short run, will cost them their majority, they are of no use. Passing Civil rights cost the Democrats the South for your entire life - but it was worth it.
Hope things are going well.
Joe H.
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