When asked whether the Blue Dogs’ protest hindered the health care bill’s passage on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Nancy Pelosi said, “Absolutely, positively not …When I take this bill to the floor, it will win…We will move forward. This will happen.”
On July 24, as negotiations riding on seven key Blue Dog Democrats in the House Energy and Commerce Committee fell apart, Chairman Waxman said to reporters, “I won’t allow them to turn over the control of the committee to the Republicans.” At the moment he is attempting to bypass the Committee to get the bill on the House floor before recess.
Heavy words from House Democrats who are striving to get their liberal agenda through as quickly as possible, while they hold a Democratic majority in Congress. What they seem unwilling to accept is the fact that the Blue Dogs make up one fifth of this majority – and will not be an easy group to sway.
The Blue Dogs are demanding a reduction in the number of lower income Americans who will receive health care subsidies and clear evidence to indicate government costs will be controlled. They want a plan that will not put unsustainable cost burdens on small businesses and won’t pose a threat to competition in the private sector.
The proposed Health Care reform bill does none of these things – in fact it promises quite the opposite.
Left-wing proposals do not resonate with the American people – who are speaking through their elected officials. The question remains – are Pelosi and the other liberal Democrats listening to the will of the people or are they serving a different interest?
Pelosi recently said it would be passed “whenever” if not “now”. Good luck with the “now” part, my friend. I’m guessing that some Democrats (with the fiscally conservative blue dogs leading the march) are starting to remember the kind of disaster we were left with when a similarly huge bill of sweeping proportions was shoved through the legislature. Yes, I’m referring to the Patriot Act. Maybe the public learned the lesson? One hopes.