The Party of NO!

The democrats have painted the republicans as the "party of no." I find this to be interesting though, because this street is most certainly not one-way.

Fox Coverage.

Obama strongly signaled at Thursday's summit that Democrats will move forward on a health care overhaul with or without Republicans. At stake are Democrats' political fortunes and the fate of Obama's agenda.

Delivering his closing argument at a 7-1/2-hour televised policy marathon Thursday, Obama told Republicans he welcomes their ideas -- even ones Democrats don't like -- but they must fit into his framework for a broad health care remake that would cover tens of millions of uninsured Americans.

That's the deal.

It's a gamble for Obama and his party, and it's far from certain that Democratic congressional leaders can rally their members to muscle a bill through on their own. At stake are Democrats' political fortunes in the midterm elections and the fate of Obama's domestic agenda pitted against emboldened Republicans.

"The truth of the matter is that politically speaking, there may not be any reason for Republicans to want to do anything," Obama said, summing up. "I don't need a poll to know that most Republican voters are opposed to this bill and might be opposed to the kind of compromise we could craft."

Senate Minority Leader McConnell, House Minority Leader Boehner, Sen. McCain, and Senate Minority Whip Kyl arrive at the Blair House.

"And if we can't," he added, "I think we've got to go ahead and some make decisions, and then that's what elections are for."

To the nearly 40 lawmakers in the room with him, the message was unmistakable.

"Frankly, I was discouraged by the outcome," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "I do not believe there will be any Republican support for this 2,700-page bill."

Democratic leaders -- who preside over majorities in both chambers-- were having none of that.

"It's time to do something, and we're going to do it," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Obama said Americans want a decision on health care, and most think "a majority vote makes sense."

Yet a USA Today/Gallup survey released Thursday found Americans tilt 49-42 percent against Congress passing a health care bill similar to the ones proposed by Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate. Opposition was even stronger to the idea of Senate Democrats using the special budget rules [budget reconciliation], with 52 percent opposed and 39 percent in favor.

What kind of leader says, "It's time to do something, and we're going to do it"? Harry Reid obviously doesn't know what's in the bill, or he would respond with something coherent, not just 3rd grade babble.

It would seem that the American people are not behind this democrat effort (as they have never really been). This is the most important point of all. As time went on and people learned more about the legislation its popularity decreased. Why? Because none of these bills have been, in any way, what they have been sold as. People are starting to wake up and look around.

CNN Coverage.

Although their public stance will be to let the dust from the summit settle, Democrats are actively looking into using the parliamentary shortcut known as reconciliation to get a health care bill to the president's desk, the sources said.

They are specifically exploring two issues: The ins and outs of how the complicated process could work, and whether the votes are there in the Senate and House to execute this strategy.

On the process, Democratic aides said they are consulting with the parliamentarians in the House and the Senate on what is possible. The general idea is for the House to pass the health bill that already has been approved by the Senate, and for a package of changes that mirror the president's plan to be passed through both chambers under reconciliation rules.

Under those rules, only 51 votes would be needed to advance the bill out of the Senate instead of the 60 needed under normal procedures.

The one Republican who voted for the House bill, Rep Joseph Cao, R-Louisiana, already says he'll be a "no" next time. There may also be some vulnerable Democrats facing tough races this year who decide to change their yes vote to no.

But the biggest obstacle to passing the Senate's health bill in the House and getting it to the president's desk may be abortion.

By some estimates, close to a dozen anti-abortion Democrats could vote against the Senate version of the bill because they say it's not strict enough in making sure taxpayer dollars are not spent on abortion procedures.

The abortion issue should be a no-brainer. Why in the world would you want government funded abortions? China has long been criticized for this (human rights violations, population control) but for some reason, now it's o.k. for us to do it?

I think the American people need to focus their efforts on repealing this legislation, because I'm confident that the democrats are going to pass this. They are not afraid to go down with the ship. To me this was evident when they picked Barack Obama as their presidential nominee.

Now it will be up to "The Party of No" to have the guts to repeal this garbage once it is pushed through. The republicans could; in fact, represent the country of NO! Because it will be once this is pushed through.

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