The Democrats Prepare For The Obamacare Charge

The names of the places associated with Pickett's charge are deeply indented on the American conscience.

Every summer, "The Angle" and "The High Water Mark" are crowded with visitors who come to commemorate the Battle of Gettysburg.

They recall the story of when Pickett's soldiers marched across the shell-swept field, temporarily broke the Union line, and returned to Seminary Ridge, broken and shattered. Pickett's charge lasted barely 50 minutes but he lost over one half of his division including all three of his brigadier generals.

This weekend another charge is about to take place in the Congress of the United States. The charge of House Democrats to pass the politically toxic health care bill now called Obamacare.

This Health Care legislation is filled with special deals and accounting gimmicks and does little to reduce the cost of health care. Obamacare is opposed by an overwhelming majority of the public but the President is so desperate to pass it that the normal channels of passing legislation are being changed. The public is now hearing about the concept of "Reconciliation" and not having to vote for a bill that was "deemed to pass". 

The Democratic Party is about to throw the 216 Democrats that vote "yes" for this bill under the political bus in November. Obama is asking these politicians to sacrifice their jobs, careers and political futures for 2,700 pages of new bureaucratic rules, mandates, directives and edicts that will do nothing to reform the health care system.

In the fall, Congressional Democrats will need to stand in front of recession weary voters and explain their vote for an unpopular health care bill that contains special deals which are now referred to as the Louisiana Purchase and the Cornhusker Kickback.  

Aimed at a small group of Democratic senators who were wavering on the underlying 10-year, $871 billion health care bill, these carve outs for Nebraska, Louisiana and other states represent hundreds of millions of dollars. These dubious deals in the Health Care Bill are as follows:

Louisiana Purchase: Sen.Mary Landrieu, D-La., agreed to vote to start debate on the bill after scoring a $300 million bump in Medicaid funding for her state.

Cornhusker Kickback: As part of the effort to expand insurance coverage, the bill increases Medicaid enrollment by 15 million by 2019. The cost of that expansion will be shared by state and federal governments except in Nebraska, where the federal government will pay for all of the new enrollees.

In addition, Obamacare is being rammed through the Congress using a dubious legislative process at a time when voters are most concerned about jobs and the economy. The Health Care Bill will eventually cost too much and increase premiums but due to its accounting, will not have its greatest negative impact until after the President completes his first term.

So, the vote on Obamacare this weekend will mean the end of the careers of many of the House Democrats in November.  Watch them as they vote yes and like the unfortunate soldiers in Pickett's charge walk to their political deaths.  Certainly, it is not good politics but it makes for most interesting theatre. 

http://www.eworldvu.com