Slaughter the Senate Bill

House Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY) wrote this about the Senate health plan--the only plan we have at the moment and which they are planning to "deem as" passed without voting on it (that's even worse than the Obama Senate record of voting present so he wouldn't have to commit):

Under the Senate plan, millions of Americans will be forced into private insurance company plans, which will be subsidized by taxpayers. That alternative will do almost nothing to reform health care but will be a windfall for insurance companies. ... Supporters of the weak Senate bill say "just pass it -- any bill is better than no bill."

I strongly disagree -- a conference report is unlikely to sufficiently bridge the gap between these two very different bills. It's time that we draw the line on this weak bill and ask the Senate to go back to the drawing board. The American people deserve at least that.

Also, when Obama was in Ohio this week I'm pretty sure he promised his teensy-weeny audience (before I could switch channels) that they could have the same plan that Congress has! Well, folks, Congress gets to choose from a variety of private health plans and get to keep it after they leave Congress. Where will their Cadillac plans be after Obama destroys the private carriers?

The only reason left to pass this bill (reconcile, slaughter, deem) is to save Obama's reputation so he can move on to grab even more of the economy. Many Americans are talking recalling their representatives or voting them out of office, forgetting that Congress has made itself irrelevant--Obama just goes around them.

Morning Bell: There Is No Bill But the Senate Bill