Any Bill at Any Cost

The Democrats in the Senate have reached agreement. They now have the 60 votes they need to ram through their "historic" health reform bill. They need zero Republican votes and can defeat any filibuster. It's even possible that the House will simply put the Senate bill up to a vote without any conference committee compromises. Almost no one including the President will know what's in the bill. What they know is that it will cost us all dearly. The demands of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) for tighter restrictions on insurance coverage for abortions not withstanding this Senate sold it's soul for any bill at any cost.

Nelson's Nebraska will get billions for his vote. Senator Landrieu's $300 million deal is being called the 2nd Louisiana Purchase. These deals are just the tip of the ice berg... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "This is not renaming the post office. Make no mistake -- this bill will reshape our nation and our lives."

Medicare is slated to suffer billions in cuts in order for the Democrat's fantasy numbers to line up with all cost savings their reform promises. Does anyone believe that when push comes to shove even $1 will be cut? This thing will bankrupt the country.

All I can say is elections have consequences - this is what the voters get whether they wanted it or not. Close to 60% of the public was not in favor of this sweeping power grab. The real brilliance is that Americans won't start feeling the pain until 2014. How convenient that the 2012 elections will be in the rear view mirror by then.

It's anybody's guess what this ram job will actually cost in direct dollars, but I am reasonably sure it will stifle the economy for some time to come until businesses large and small sort it all out.

It's hard to be optimistic about anything coming out of Washington these days - I pray to God I'm completely wrong when I say nothing good will come out this.



CW