Within minutes of the House’s passage of their third attempt to kill the ACA, Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats shot it down.
This vote, just like all the others, was by party line with Democrats having more than enough support for the simple majority that was required to kill the House’s 3rd attack today on the ACA.
Harry Reid quoted Einstein’s definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results on the Senate floor, then he and Sen. Dick Durban laid into House Republicans for attaching the Vitter Amendment to their latest amended CR.
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Senate Democrats said that House Republicans were lying about members of Congress and staff getting special treatment under Obamacare. Reid blasted Republican members of Congress for taking the employer subsidy for their own healthcare while expecting staff to pay 100% of the costs associated with their own health insurance.
With less than three hours until the government shuts down, the only question remaining is will Boehner blink before midnight? If recent history is any indication, House Republicans will wake up in the morning and look at what the stock market is doing. If the Dow plunges, Republicans will feel pressure to pass a clean CR. Let’s face it, House Republicans don’t care about the millions of innocent Americans who they will harm by shutting down the government. They only care about big business. When Wall Street feels the pain, House Republicans will respond.
There is a large contingent of House Republicans who are ready to vote to end the madness. At some point, Boehner will have no choice, but to let the House vote on a clean version of the Senate CR. Whether that moment comes tomorrow, the day after, or a week from now, nobody knows.
For weeks some Republican members of Congress have been warning in their darkest tones about the uncertainty that the ACA is causing. That uncertainty is imaginary and is being fueled by the same Republicans who are issuing the dire warnings. The GOP is about to get an eyeful of what real economic uncertainty looks like if they don’t pass a clean CR.
Democrats are going to give Boehner nothing. House Republicans can pass a delay in Obamacare 100 more times, and the Senate will reject them all. Boehner has painted himself into a corner, and eventually he will have to put his tail between his legs and pass the clean CR.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
