I am an optimist. I see the glass as half full (preferably with beer). So I am keeping hope alive!
There are a couple of ways this can still be stopped. The first is that numerous state attorneys are going to sue.
Virginia will file suit against the federal government charging that the health-care reform legislation is unconstitutional, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office confirmed last night.
Cuccinelli is expected to argue that the bill, with its mandate that requires nearly every American to be insured by 2014, violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.
There is a good chance that the Supreme Court will rule the bill unconstitutional based on the mandate for all Americans to buy insurance even if they don’t want it and that some of the bill only helps specific states at the expense of the rest. When it is declared unconstitutional, the Democrats will try to fix it with a new bill. By then we will have had another election. Even without a Republican takeover in the House and the Senate, there will be enough new Republicans to stop Obamacare.
Of course, the Supreme Court could find a way to stay out of the fight and let the bill stand. Then, we’re screwed.
Even if the GOP takes over the House and Senate and they can pass a bill to repeal Obamacare, The One would veto it. There’s no way the Republicans will have a filibuster proof majority in the senate or a two thirds majority to override a veto.
The other way is the senate parliamentarian will find that the reconciliation bill violates the Byrd rule and will send it back to the House. However, that will probably mean Obama will just sign the Senate bill into law without the “fixes.”
But don’t give up. Keep hope alive!
Check out the failure of “deem and pass,” Obama’s new math, and our Education Secretary’s speech problem.