Reid Plans Christmas Eve Vote on Health Care Bill

What a hard-working Congress. After passing $1.1 trillion spending bill on Sunday, the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is planning the vote on the Senate health care bill on Christmas Eve. Makes you proud, doesn't it?

Reid plans Christmas Eve passage of health bill
(12/17/09 MSNBC via Newsvine)

"WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leaders have laid out an ambitious timetable for passing the health care bill on Christmas Eve. But if they're successful with their strategy, the vote that matters most and sets the stage for final passage would happen on Monday.

"To be successful, the plan assumes Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will have three key elements before the weekend: the bill's cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation completely written and available to the public, and assurance from all 60 members of his caucus that they will vote for the package.

"As of this writing, none of those things has materialized."

If they manage to pass this piece of you know what, what a wonderful Christmas present for the health care lobby! For taxpayers, let's forget Christmas, there's nothing to be cheerful about.

According to Rasmussen Report on December 14, 56% of U.S. voters are now against the health care reform plan being crafted by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats. 40% of the voters are in favor. More importantly, however, 46% now strongly oppose the plan, compared to just 19% who strongly favor the plan. Also, according to Scott Rasmussen, "63% of senior citizens oppose the plan, including 52% who strongly oppose it."

Rasmussen Report also reports that unprecedented 71% of the U.S. voters are angry at the federal government, including 46% who are very angry.

But no matter how much the voters are against the government's health care reform, how angry they are at the government, they don't get to express their displeasure until 2010 election.

Besides, I still remember what happened in September/October 2008: people were dead-set against the $700 billion bank bailout bill (something like 99 to 1 against), but the Democratic Congress passed it anyway (those who opposed were Republicans). And what happened to those Democrats in November election? Nothing. Almost all of them got elected back.

99% of poll respondents at Fox News are against the government raising debt ceiling, Zero Hedge reports. They will raise it anyway, and give themselves a nice raise as an aside.

As long as 1% of population is for it, Congress will pass any and everything. Health care bill, debt ceiling bill, defense bill, what have you.

To add insult to injury, the overburdened taxpayers were lectured by President Obama the other day that unless the health care bill gets passed, the federal government will go bankrupt. (I also remember how he threatened the general public with "catastrophe" unless Congress passed his so-called stimulus bill.)

First, your government is already broke, Mr. President, as you already admitted back in May. Second, in case you don't know yet, an increasing number of Americans (voters, not the political class) will cheer if your government goes broke and stops spending. It would make a very nice Christmas present if you stop spending, for a change.

Tweet