Will Scott Brown Ruin Republicans' (Secret) Plan to Pass Obamacare?

[Joanne98]

It is now a given that if he wins a Massachusetts Senate seat on Tuesday, Scott Brown will destroy the Democrats' plan to pass health care reform. But he will also destroy the Republicans' not-so-secret plan to pass health care reform.

In Washington, where everyone is desperate to know what's happening behind closed doors, all you have to do to keep something secret is do it out in the open, preferably on C-Span. Mitch McConnell did exactly that when he entered a unanimous consent agreement with Harry Reid about how to proceed on the health care bill. McConnell knew that agreement was going to make it impossible for Republicans to amend the bill and would put it on a fast track toward passage.

McConnell accepted an agreement brilliantly designed by Reid that required 60 votes to pass an amendment. McConnell did that without anyone noticing anything odd after a year of saturation coverage of the importance of 60 votes in the Senate. Everyone outside the Senate now thinks it takes 60 votes to do anything. Not amendments. Amendments pass by a simple majority, 51 votes. Amendments are usually debated for a couple of minutes or hours or days, then voted on. Once in a while, a 60-vote cloture motion is needed to end debate on an amendment. What McConnell agreed to was an implicit cloture motion in every vote on every amendment, thereby completely surrendering the minority's real power. In all my years in the Senate, I never saw a leader make such a mistake. If it was a mistake.

There are no real filibusters in the Senate anymore. The way you "filibuster" a bill that you want to kill is offer an endless stream of reasonable sounding amendments that have to be debated and voted on. It's easy to come up with one amendment per page of legislation. That's why the Republicans offered hundreds of amendments during the Senate committees' debates on the bill. When the majority leader brings up a two thousand page bill, the minority would normally come up with at least five hundred amendments that could drag out the debate for several months. That's what the Republicans did in 1994 when they killed the Clinton health care reform bill on the Senate floor. No filibuster, no forcing the Democrats to clear 60-vote procedural hurdles, no forcing a reading to the bill, just an endless stream of reasonable sounding amendments -- so reasonable that some of them passed with votes of 100 to 0. And the Democrats, seeing this could go on forever, surrendered. Fifty-seven Democrats were defeated by forty-three determined Republicans.

continued>>>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-odonnell/will-scott-brown-ruin-rep_b_426604.html

There's actually another reason why a Brown win will save the Democrats from crushing loses in November so I made a poster to explain it....



For the last six months there has been a big run up of health insurance company stocks. The CEO's have been telling investors on conference calls that the mandate will generate huge profits so investors have been buying.. Think about what's going to happen if HCR fails because Brown is elected. Think about the big headache that's going to be for the Republicans. No wonder Mitchell is trying to make a secret deal to save it. If Brown wins the profit windfall dispears and investors wil SELL SELL SELL. The insurance companies will have no choice but to RAISE PREMIUMS to calm investor panic.

When people all over this country start getting notices in the mail with shocking price raises all we have to do is BLAME THE TEABAGGERS! They lied to the voters and the sticker shock will be all their fault.

The public will be furious. Not even the idiots in the DLC can screw this up.

All we have to do is make sure the teabaggers get the blame.

If would be even better if we made the Republicans pass it. If we get some Democrats to vote no the insurance companies will make the Republicans do it.

[tridim]

1. The Insurance industry is against HCR. Period.

Or do you think those CoC ads are (secret) reverse psychology? :eyes:

You're so wrong about everything I just have to laugh at you and your new pal Mitch McConnel.

[Joanne98]

2. If they're against it why have they been telling investors it's the best

thing since white bread? You need to listen to Wendell Potter more....

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/profile.html

They want the mandate. It's worth trillions of dollars.

[Myrina]

10. +1

... follow the money, you got that right.

[Joanne98]

3. If you look at this Aetna chart you'll see what I mean...........

It was in the period this fall when the HCR bill was in the most trouble. The stock went down.

If Brown wins there should be a sellout Wednesday.

[tridim]

4. Pretend you're an Aetna stock holder.

A person with your incorrect views will probalby buy Aetna stock when it looks like HCR is going to pass.

Multiply that by 10,000 other Aetna investors who also don't understand what's actually in the HCR bill and there's your stock bump.

[Joanne98]

7. The health insurers still need the mandate money. Example....

The CEO of a bio-tech company was on CNBC talking about their new drug for Lupas

Benlysta
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/158066.php

He was telling thew CNBC anchors that it will cost 30,000 a year.

Since no-one is willing to reign in Pharma this is an example of what we can expect everytime they market a new drug. And since individuals can't afford these kind of prices then the insurance co's will get stuck paying. And quite frankly they can't afford it either.

The money from the mandate is the only thing that will keep premuims down. If they lose it they will have to raise rates.

[boomerbust]

5. An old Wall Street rule

Buy on the rumor sell on the news.

[Joanne98]

8. Yes.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. So, the Club For Growth is on this little *conspiracy* as well?

What with them trying to get Republican candidates to sign pledges to work towards the repeal of any HCR legislation. Sounds like a brilliant master plan to me!
:sarcasm:
:eyes:

[Dr.Phool]

9. It's perfect. Democrats pass a Republican health bill.

The Republicans can disown it, and campaign against it.

The DLC Genius Brigade strikes again!

[Joanne98]

12. Yep. The DLC is killing us.

[Joanne98]

11. Healthcare stocks DOWN.

Although not as bad as I expected. They must still think there's hope for HCR. The con artists on CNBC are already back at their real jobs which is suckering the small investors into pump and dump schemes. They said yesterday that healthcare stocks would rally so the suckers bought in.

Now they sell......

We need the SEC to audit the healthcare insurance companies books. They're numbers don't add up.

Kill the bill then audit them and watch the whole industry tank.

Symbol Last Trade Change Volume Shrs Holdings Value Day's Value Change Price Paid Gain/Loss Related Info
- - - 100 5052.000000$5,050.00
HUM 12:43pm ET 50.50 1.44 6,145,177 100 5052.000000$5,050.00 -141.999817 $144.00 2.77% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 3248.000000$3,246.00
AET 12:43pm ET 32.46 0.20 7,479,393 100 3248.000000$3,246.00 -18.000031 $20.00 0.61% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 3258.000244$3,258.00
CAH 12:43pm ET 32.58 0.50 1,844,398 100 3258.000244$3,258.00 -50.000000 $50.00 1.51% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 6812.000488$6,811.00
WLP 12:43pm ET 68.11 0.05 9,447,240 100 6812.000488$6,811.00 6.000519 $5.00 0.07% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 5656.149902$5,657.00
AMGN 12:44PM ET 56.57 0.98 2,742,612 100 5656.149902$5,657.00 -98.849869 $98.00 1.70% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - 100 3465.000244$3,464.00
UNH 12:43pm ET 34.64 0.49 17,055,318 100 3465.000244$3,464.00 -47.999954 $49.00 1.39% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - - -
HNT 12:44PM ET 25.95 0.06 730,350 - - $0.00 0.23% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - - -
RX 12:42PM ET 21.53 0.01 1,017,339 - - $0.00 0.05% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
- - - - -
SPPI 12:42PM ET 5.18 0.02 558,332 - - $0.00 0.38% - Chart, Message, Profile, more...
27491.150391$27,486.00
Total 27491.150391$27,486.00 -350.849121 $356.00 1.28%

[Joanne98]

13. A chart of the Scott Brown effect

Get out now or lose your money!