PrintMay 16, 2009
How to Stop a Healthcare Hijack
Stop an arcane parliamentary maneuver - "reconciliation" - and the odds improve at stopping the Democrats march toward socialized medicine. But Republicans can't do it; not alone, anyway. It's up to the legions of Tea Partiers and average Americans to win the fight. Reconciliation is aimed at dramatically restricting debate and banning filibuster on budget-related matters. It allows for a simple up or down vote. Senate Democrats are keeping it as an option if progress lags in recasting healthcare as a government-run enterprise. A good bet is that they'll invoke it. Why?Because a thorough public airing and extensive Senate debate will expose the Democrats' plan for what it is: a demolishing of the doctor-patient relationship in favor of a politician-bureaucrat driven system; and a system all about rationing. Democrats are quick to say that Republicans used reconciliation when they were the majority. That's true, but it was...(Read Full Article)
