The House voted to repeal ObamaCare yesterday with the vote being 245-189. Every Republican voted for repeal and they were joined by three Democrats. (Passage of ObamaCare in March of last year was 219-212.) Now the bill goes to the Senate where Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, has pledged that the repeal measure will never come to the floor for a vote. Not so fast Harry! Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, is pledging to get a senate vote on repeal:
“The Democratic leadership in the Senate doesn’t want to vote on this bill,” McConnell added. “But I assure you, we will.”“I want to congratulate our colleagues in the House on this important first step. I hope the Senate will soon follow suit with a vote of its own,” McConnell said in a video release following the successful 245-189 vote in the House to repeal the healthcare law.
Few living people know the rules of the Senate and how to use them better than Mitch McConnell and I think he will get an up or down vote on repeal, unless the Democrats filibuster. Reid has a problem that 23 Democrat senators are up for re-election in 2012. He has a narrow majority and a skittish one. I can imagine a Democrat filibuster crumbling if they hear from enough of their constituents. Doubtless Obama would veto a repeal of ObamaCare if it passes the Senate, but such a veto would underline just how deeply unpopular ObamaCare remains, and make certain that it will be a central issue in the 2012 campaign.
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