No Mystery

by digby

So, Tom Harkin says that they had a HCR deal in place before the Massachusetts election. Dday wonders if the administration would like those three months in which they comments:

Kevin Drum sees a silver lining here, that there exists a pathway amenable to everyone that merely can be accomplished by the House passing the Senate bill, and the additional fixes done in a reconciliation “sidecar.” But he adds, “Why this isn’t happening is a mystery.”

No it isn’t. There are several major stumbling blocks where reconciliation simply won’t work. The biggest one is abortion, though the design of the exchanges doesn’t seem to be a real good fit for reconciliation, either. But the abortion issue is the one that doesn’t have a sidecar fix where the votes are probably consequential. Nobody has yet figured out how to overcome the dozen or so Stupak followers who would vote against the entire bill if Ben Nelson’s compromise on abortion services funding remains. Jim Moran seemed to hint at a deal on that front, but with the Senate composed as it is there doesn’t seem to be a good way to accomplish it. Basically you’re talking about a stand-alone deal affirming the Hyde Amendment and banning coverage on the exchanges. And if that is the only path for passage of the entire bill, don’t expect Republicans, even those who are virulently anti-choice, to help out with that. They don’t have much of a problem voting against things they supported in the recent past.

I would actually love to see the Republicans put in that position. But since Stupak and his made men are working with the Republicans I doubt it will come to that. But it would be an interesting moment for them.

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