Saturday, March 20, 2010

Deem and Pass


If there's one thing Republicans do much better than Democrats, it's coming up with names for things. When Democrats pushed "Health Care Reform," Republicans trumped them with "Death Panels." Had the Democrats been pushing a "Rescuing Health Care Act," they might have retained the upper hand.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Democrats would think they might be able to get away with a tactic called "Deem and Pass," by which they could somehow approve the Senate bill without actually approving the Senate bill -- as if Republican attack ads for the rest of the year would take that nuanced approach.

By the way, I've got news for those few Democrats who voted to Rescue Health Care last December but have decided to vote No on Sunday: your Republican opponent will not let you get away with it. You're stuck with that Yes vote whether you like the Cornhusker Kickback or not. Just ask John Kerry how voting for a bill before you vote against it goes over with the voting public.

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