This has to be the most astounding abuse of power to date. Senator Jim DeMint has caught Dingy Harry red handed making some very shocking changes to senate rules and binding future congress from repealing parts of the health care reform bill. Guess which part of the bill Dingy Harry is protecting? Give up? Lets just say Sarah Palin was right again, there are Death Panels now and forever!
Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) pointed out some rather astounding language in the Senate health care bill during floor remarks tonight. First, he noted that there are a number of changes to Senate rules in the bill--and it's supposed to take a 2/3 vote to change the rules. And then he pointed out that the Reid bill declares on page 1020 that the Independent Medicare Advisory Board cannot be repealed by future Congresses:
there's one provision that i found particularly troubling and it's under section c, titled "limitations on changes to this subsection."
and i quote -- "it shall not be in order in the senate or the house of representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection."
this is not legislation. it's not law. this is a rule change. it's a pretty big deal. we will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law.
i'm not even sure that it's constitutional, but if it is, it most certainly is a senate rule. i don't see why the majority party wouldn't put this in every bill. if you like your law, you most certainly would want it to have force for future senates.
i mean, we want to bind future congresses. this goes to the fundamental purpose of senate rules: to prevent a tyrannical majority from trampling the rights of the minority or of future co congresses.
According to page 1001 of the Reid bill, the purpose of the Independent Medical Advisory Board is to "reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending." For any fearmongers out there tempted to call an unelected body that recommends Medicare cuts a "Death Panel," let me be clear. According to page 1004, IMAB proposals "shall not include any recommendation to ration health care"--you know, just like the bill says there's no funding for abortion.
Paging Sarah Palin: the death panel is unkillable.
Watch Jim DeMint in action as he questions that know nothing acting as Senate President (who is this bozo?) to reveal the evil hidden in Reid’s bill.
Protecting the Death Panel is crucial because with out the Death Panel, the cost of government run health care immediately explodes. Killing this provision of the bill would cause ObamaCare to collapse under it’s own financial weight.
Furthermore, this panel will forever have control over life and death decision. This panel is un-elected by the people, yet will be able to exert the ultimate control of the people. This is truly evil.
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