by Dan Perrin
RedState.com
3/19/2010
Speaker Pelosi does not have the YES votes she needs, but the Dems insist on voting on ObamaCare on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, uh, Sunday. Hoyer said this morning they still don’t have the votes. FireDogLake’s count is at 192 Yes votes, with the No votes rising to 208. Staff of No voting Representatives and Members know the Leadership does not have the votes.
Do not believe that just because they have set the vote for sometime “after” 2 pm on Sunday, that they have the votes.
For example, the Republicans called the vote to expand Medicare on Prescription Drugs without having the votes. They knew they were two short, key lobbyists knew they were two short and getting those two took three and a half hours of the vote being held open.
But the Dems are much farther away. I put them at nine or ten votes down.
And this vote is far more politically dangerous and damaging than giving Seniors prescription drug coverage.
The key questions are will the undecideds make a decision sooner than later — and will they decide Yes?
Inside the beltway, the easy call is Yes — your Dem leadership and White House will love you.
But the hard answer is No.
No is prevailing. Getting to 216 is a math question. Missing the mark means failure. They are at failure.
The strain is getting to people, I know. There are some who are so wound up and so tired and so stressed they just want it over — observers and players in this drama.
Have drink, get a massage, or watch a movie for some time today or execise. Turn off your television. Read your news. It gives you a much better perspective. You need it. Give yourself four or five hours of mental health break time. Both sides need it, frankly.
Here is one other thing. There are some Republicans who want it to pass because they know the damage to the Democrats will last a decade, the Republicans will be in charge, and they will benefit. They smell the Chairman’s gavel and the staff smell the majority.
Beware of those who claim — wisely, they say — that the Dems will find the votes. [Emphasis CAJ]
Even though Pelosi’s vote buying has been extensive, they have not found the votes. Turning on a river is a new level of federal abuse of power and desperation on the part of the Democrats. The Speaker turned on a river in California to buy two yes votes from Democrats Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa.
The word-on-the-street is the Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s vote was bought with a job for his wife in the First Lady’s empire, er, office. At least his wife is happy, right?
Other Dems have their payoffs — Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) got an exemption for his favorite bank to from the Student Loan take-over by the Feds.
But Obama’s Gallup approval rating continues to drop, to a new low of 48% disapproval. Passing the bill in the House will make this worse.
Passing the Senate bill on Christmas Eve helped to elect Scott Brown. The public became angry and scared. They sent a message. It has been ignored. But the Massachusetts Dems are having trouble with this fact, and they are seriously looking at Yes to No to save their skins.
Suicide bombing sounds great to fanatics — but if you’re not a fanatic, well, you think long and hard about your life and your survival.
Slowly it is dawning on the Democrats that thousands of new IRS agents and tanking poll numbers are directly tied to health care.
The new White House line of the Dems’ fate being tied to the White House is so disingenuous.
The reason the Members are in trouble politically is because the White House is insisting on doing something the public hates, and they will not stop, “will not quit” pushing their poison.
The White House and the Speaker are putting the Members in harm’s way, and then telling them they must agree to solve the problem the Speaker and the White House created for them by voting Yes.
Some House Dems understand this. Rep. Chet Edwards, for example, who told Politico “”it’s clear to me they could care less about my political future.”
And more Dems are realizing it.
Then the House Leadership tells House Members that the House will force the Senate to magically make all these changes in the Senate. But please ignore the fact that Senate Dems will not promise or agree to in advance because they know many of the changes will not happen.
Fundamentally, it is irrational what the Speaker and the White House are doing.
Do not confuse their irrationality with having the votes. They don’t have the votes. And it is getting harder to find the votes.
