By Mark Rhoads
What is so unfair about making Congress live under the same laws it passes for the rest of America? Now comes the famous, or infamous as you like, Rep. Joe ("You lie") Wilson to offer a simple amendment to Nancy Pelosi's now 2,000 page health care bill. The Wilson amendment only changes ONE WORD in the entire bill and that is changing the word "may" to "must." The current House health care legislation states that members of Congress "may enroll" in the public plan. Wilson wants that changed to "must enroll." Wilson is trying the political quivalent of someone offering a poison pill in a corporate takeover or merger negotiation. Of course Pelosi cannot afford to allow this amendment to be voted up or down on the floor. Few members of Congress in their right minds (a contradiction?) will want to mandate themselves and their families to join the crazy public option they are trying to force on all other citizens.
But in the Senate, it will not be so easy to avoid an up or down roll call vote on the amendment. Then we will see which Democrats in Congress are willing to put their own families under the same plan the want to mandate for everyone else. After a gain of two seats in elections yesterday, Pelosi can afford to lose 41 Blue Dogs and others on a roll call but Harry Reid cannot afford to lose any vote he has which is one reason there will not be a vote in the Senate until 2010 but that will not help much and the House Democrats will be left holding the bag. House members such as Rep.Bill Lipinski, a Roman Catholic who lives in Western Springs and who will be asked to vote to make the government repeal the Hyde Amendment and pay for abortions again, will have to take the heat from suburban voters for nothing since the Senate will find a way to let their procedures kill the bill after the delay to early 2010 by which time a new campaign season will start.
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