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The threat of the Slaughter Rule to pass the Health Care legislation leaves us wondering if the cure to our health care problems is not worse than the disease. It seems that there are only two reasons to resort to this tactic. Either Pelosi does not have enough votes to pass the bill or she wants to provide cover for those who do not want to face the consequence of their vote back home.
In either case she stands ready to thwart the will of the voters. After so much outright bribery and arm twisting this does not speak well for the bill. If she really thinks that everyone will like the bill afterwards then she is speaking very poorly of her party’s ability to communicate anything. More likely she is simply arrogant in believing that the great unwashed do not really know what is good for them.
The Blue Dog Democrats have the most to lose from deem and pass (which is really a by-pass). If voters cannot see how their Congressman voted and this obfuscation is intentionally constructed by the Democrats in power, then their only option is to vote out every Democrat regardless of their fiscal conservatism. That will be the only way assert the will of the voter.
In an effort to give cover to their Congressmen, the party leadership may bury them.