Thursday, July 30, 2009

Another Obamacare Update

First, there was no vote. Then, there was a vote. Now, there's no vote again:

The big news on Obamacare this afternoon was Henry Waxman's "breakthrough" on a deal with the Blue Dogs to markup the health bill this afternoon and presumably report it out of committee by Friday. "I’m especially grateful that so many members, including some Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee, are working so hard to find common ground," Obama said in a statement this afternoon. "Those efforts are extraordinarily constructive in strengthening this legislation and bringing down its cost."

But Roll Call reports that liberals on the committee have objected to Waxman's deal with the Blue Dogs, forcing the chairman to give up on marking up the bill today:

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) postponed the health bill markup that he planned to hold Wednesday afternoon amid a backlash from liberals to the deal that he cut earlier with four conservative Blue Dog Democrats.

Waxman told reporters that he intended to keep meeting with committee Democrats on Wednesday night, resume the markup Thursday and still finish the bill Friday. ...

Waxman’s deal with the Blue Dogs, backed by House leaders and the White House, cuts more than $100 billion from the bill, prevents a new public option from using Medicare rates to reimburse providers and exempts small businesses with a payroll of less than $500,000 from a new employer mandate, among other changes.

The weakening of the public option incensed some liberal Members, with Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairwoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) declaring she would vote against it.

Ace of Spades has a few more details:

The Progressive Caucus has 83 members. Members are circulating a letter for signatures protesting the deal.

Liberals are hoping to get 50 signatures on the letter, to make it clear they have the votes to defeat the biil.

"Fifty is our threshold," said Progressive Caucus co-chairman Raul Grijalva. "That'll kill anything."

And the bottom line:
The hold up wasn't caused by the 'conservatives', it was the 'progressives' this time.
While we're waiting to see the results of the wrangling in the House (translation: more Dems need to be bought), here are a few more links with excellent information on the monstrosity that is Obamacare.

Obamacare promotes euthanasia
Obamacare will cut Medicare benefits
Dems don't need a single Rep vote...but they're still begging for Rep votes
5 freedoms you will lose under Obamacare
Obamacare will redefine gender
Polling shows Obamacare support shedding like a German Shepherd in July
Obamacare will cause seniors to lose their doctors, their coverage, and ration them to death
Obama's $6,000 lie

And of course, we have this stunning admission from a leading Democrat:



Very interesting, don't you think? Not that we didn't know that already, but it's refreshing to hear some honesty for a change.

Finally, Jimmy Fallon takes on the House bill:



If Obama has lost the late night crowd -- remember, these are the guys who didn't crack a single joke at his expense throughout the entire campaign process -- then he's lost the American people.

Keep up the pressure, it's working.

There's my two cents.

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