Dems face March deadline for healthcare reconciliation

[ISASO]

Apparently, the insiders know once again they are up against the wall on health-care reform. They acknowledge that they will likely have to force it through via reconciliation before the end of March - - before members of Congress go home for Easter break and have to face their pissed-off bosses, the American voters. They realize that if the voters have a chance to voice their outrage over this to their representatives that they will return without the will to pass it after Easter.

REASONABLE CONFIDENCE – If Democrats can agree on a reconciliation package, House leaders are "reasonably confident" they can pass it, Nancy Pelosi’s chief of staff John Lawrence told supporters during a Friday conference call. He said that reconciliation is a legitimate legislative process, dismissing criticism of the move as a “non-issue,” according to the notes of several participants. Lawrence's comments came during a call with 450 health reform activists organized by Families USA. The next step, he said, is to put President Obama's proposal into legislative language and send it to the Congressional Budget Office for a cost estimate. Pelosi’s top aide refused to set a timetable for action, arguing that doing so has worked against Democrats in the past. (Indeed, Democrats blew almost every self-imposed deadline over the past year.) But he did acknowledge that Democrats are cognizant of the clock – and especially of concerns that the Easter break could turn into a replay of the August recess.

http://www.politico.com/politicopulse/

[ISASO]

"Everything there is to say about health care has been said, and just about everybody has said it," he said. "Now is the time to make a decision about how to finally reform health care so that it works, not just for the insurance companies, but for America's families and America's businesses."

He also came out in support of a controversial legislative maneuver known as reconciliation, which would allow changes to the health care bill to be passed by the Senate with only 51 votes -- a bare legislative majority.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/03/health.care/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

OBAMA TRANSLATION:
Congress needs to vote on this now, before the Easter recess. Everyone needs to stop reading the legislation and researching its negative impact on taxpayers. The more people talk about it and learn about it, the less likely it is to pass so let's stop caring about our future solvency and let's start voting!!
And since we probably still have 51 votes, let's vote quickly before that evaporates too. We can't wait around to do the right thing, we have to do my thing.

[WuDrWu]

I have really tried hard to show respect to the office when I have disagreed with this President.

However, in this case, let me state Obama is an un-American narcissistic *****.

I wish he'd go back to doing what he does best (the only thing he's been good at),shooting up crack, and leave the rest of us alone.


Why do we have to deal with such stupidity?

[ISASO]

Why do we have to put up with this? Because a bunch of lemmings followed the Pied Piper out of town and into a region full of cliffs.

You know what happens next.

[SubGod22]

Can Blue Dogs be enough to stop it in the House? I believe the House barely passed the last attempt and it sounds as if it may be even more difficult with elections around the corner.

[Maggie]

Can Blue Dogs be enough to stop it in the House? I believe the House barely passed the last attempt and it sounds as if it may be even more difficult with elections around the corner.

The House is what really matters. We will see.