Byron York just doesn’t believe we’re going to get a health-care vote in the Senate, let alone a final bill, this year “for three reasons: the calendar, the Senate’s other business, and, most importantly, growing public opposition to the health bill itself.” There seem to be only a couple of work weeks left for the Senate, which will have to entertain a zillion amendments from both sides before a vote to cut off debate. He notes: “GOP lawmakers will introduce amendments to challenge some of the bill’s fundamentals: the giant cuts in Medicare spending, the array of new and higher taxes, the coerciveness of the bill’s mandates, and the intimidating new powers given to health care bureaucrats.”
Once again, one can only marvel at the Democratic leadership, which will be intent on finding 60 votes for “the giant cuts in Medicare spending, the array of new and higher taxes, the coerciveness of the bill’s mandates, and the intimidating new powers given to health care bureaucrats.” Really, an affirmative vote on any one of these toxic provisions will make for a killer campaign ad; certainly votes on all of them will be hard for Democrats to explain to incredulous voters in all but the safest seats. And time is not on the Democrats’ side. With each vote and each passing month, support for this monstrous bill and for the president (who’s going to have to come to the aid of politically at-risk Democrats) declines.
York is right that it may be near impossible to get health care done this year. The only thing tougher will be getting it done in an election year.