Baucus Feeling the Stress?
Based on this video, I’d say that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus is feeling extremely fatigued:
Based on the exchange in this video, I’d say that Sen. Baucus is feeling stressed. I’ve never trusted him because he seemed like a ‘too-clever-by-half’ politician. Still, I’ve never seen him this combative before. I suspect that that’s because he’s under alot of pressure from Rahm Emanuel, the Nutroots and the CBO. I can’t imagine the political consequences of failing to get this passed quickly.
Everything about the path this legislation is taking says that someone’s trying to pull a fast one on the American people. Ernest Istook summarizes it perfectly here:
So those who want to read the bill cannot — because there is no bill. Instead, senators are working from a mere outline (if 200 pages can be called “mere”) by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., plus 564 “conceptual” amendments. Only after Baucus’ committee approves it would staff be instructed to go back and write a bill that had already been approved! That could run to at least 1,500 pages.
It’s a crafty solution to the problem described by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., “What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”
Democrats such as Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, claim that it’s better to work from a “plain English” outline rather than the arcane language often found in complex legislation. But how would senators be certain that the ultimate gobbledygook is a correct translation if they don’t review it before voting? In essence, senators are denying lay citizens and learned experts the ability to monitor the work, to help avoid unintended consequences and to blow the whistle on intended ones.
While I’m worried about the unintended consequences of this legislation, I’m equally worried about the intended consequences that the Democrats’ legislation will carry with it. The adage that “the devil is in the details” should be our guidepost. What the Democrats are essentially doing is asking the American people to trust them.
To this point, nothing they’ve done indicates that they’re trustworthy.
Another indicator that something is wrong with this legislation is a brief exchange between Kent Conrad and Sen. Baucus. Sen. Conrad asked if they’d heard anything new from CBO since they started the mark-up. Sen. Baucus’ response was chilling to American taxpayers: he said that he’d heard from them but that “it isn’t something” that he wanted to talk about in committee.
My bet is that the deficit-neutral scoring that the legislation got before it was introduced has disappeared. My bet is that the bill has gotten considerably more costly and that it’s running a significant deficit during the first decade.
That’s purely an opinion at this point but it’s only an opinion because the bill’s real language isn’t posted online.
The fact that these idiots are hiding the bill from us is reason enough to melt down the Senate switchboard. King is particularly upset with the Democrats’ hiding the bill’s language from us. First he notes Tom Carper’s rationalization:
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) described his attempts at reading the legislative language of a bill: “You read it and say, ‘What did that say?’” The committee, he said, uses “plain language so that even I can understand” a bill.
Next King registers his disapproval of Carper’s rationalization:
I wouldn’t accept that excuse from my students. Why do Delaware voters accept it from Carper?
The Finance Committee Democrats should be, but won’t be, embarrassed about this admission. Think about this: King puts higher expectations on his students than Senate Democrats put on themselves. That’s unforgiveable.
Told that it would take two weeks to comply with the Bunning amendment, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said, “If it takes two more weeks, it takes two more weeks. I don’t understand, what is the rush?”
Yet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wants the bill on the floor by the start of October and says he’s willing to cancel the Oct. 10 Columbus Day recess to move the bill. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is talking about similar quick action.
By controlling both the calendar and the available information, proponents try to control communication, public awareness, and the all-important political spin.
Republicans have rightly criticized Sen. Snowe for being a RINO. Still, I’ve been impressed with how steadfast she’s been in insisting on a transparent process and with keeping the cost of the bill under control. She’s been a good soldier throughout.
It’s time that Sen. Baucus and other Democrats, minus Blanche Lincoln, were reminded that they work for us, that our wishes are their commands. In fact, it’s time to contact them and tell them that they’d better start listening better, which means that they need to post the bill in its arcane language ASAP.
Technorati Tags: Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, CBO, Deficits, Medicare, Tom Carper, Harry Reid, Rationing, Democrats, Jon Kyl, Tort Reform, Republicans
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
September 25th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Since when do they work for us? They’ve shown no more of that than the Republicans did for the last 8 years they were in control.
To any constitutional lawyer ( I mean a real one, not the liar-in-chief): is it a valid vote if what is being voted upon in either the Senate or House is not available in print? If it technically is, can a motion be made to make it available before a vote?
Inquiring minds want to know.