It’s a nice plan, on paper.
Pelosi puts a self-executing rule, called the Slaughter Rule, in a popular bill that deems the Senate’s version of Obamacare has passed. The reconciliation bill goes to the Senate, and Obamacare becomes law without anyone having to go on record with a “yes” vote. There’s a previous court precedent that says they don’t interfere with how Congress works internally, so it could work. This means life is good for the Democrats, riiiight?
Political hobgoblin that I am, I thought of some additional angles on my way home from work today. If this bill passes with the Slaughter rule, a few things could go horribly wrong.
- As far as the public is concerned, it’s a distinction without a difference. It’s not hard to explain that anyone who voted for the rule attached to this pork bill actually voted for Obamacare, because it will be law and a yoke on everyone’s back by then. Therefore, no cover.
- Maybe no one is on record as having voted “yes”, but they’re all at fault for the process everyone despises. Every Democrat supported the current backroom-dealing, process-bending, arrogant, tone-deaf leadership that will have made this happen. Therefore, ALL Democrats are at fault for the process regardless of their vote. “No” is meaningless in the face of chicanery like this unless there are enough “no’s” to kill the bill.
- The President signing the bill is a Democrat. If history holds true, all Democrats will take the blame right along with him when he makes it law. Again, this means that the “no” votes are of no use unless they’re enough to kill the bill.
- The Republicans sue, stating that the Slaughter rule is a rider on a law, and therefore it must then go through bicameralism and presentation in order to have force. If a judge rules in their favor, the Slaughter rule has to go through both houses of Congress and be signed into law before it takes effect, thus defeating the purpose. This leaves Reid facing a bruising reconciliation battle and having to defend the Slaughter rule on top of it as election time nears. This could be weeks if not months of bare-knuckle political brutality before it’s over unless he just drops the bill. This is very likely, and it would leave the House Democrats on the hook again.
Yes, there may be precedent for a self-executing rule and it may have been done before, but it won’t give cover to anyone. The Democrats will just be swapping one kind of trouble for another.