Research

Last night on MSNBC, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi felt the need to correct Rachel Maddow, saying that Bart Stupak wasn’t trying to hijack the Democrats’ government-run health care bill. According to Pelosi, Republicans are the only ones capable of hijacking their government takeover agenda:

But one week ago, it was Stupak who said he was “prepared to take responsibility” for bringing down government-run health care if the House was forced to vote on the Senate Democrats’ bill that provides federal funding of abortion:

It’s no secret that House Dems don’t like Harry Reid’s bill. That’s why it’s no surprise that they tried to bend the rules to pass it. Yesterday, the Senate parliamentarian foiled their plan to pass their government-run health care experiment without voting for highly unpopular provisions – like taxpayer funded abortions, middle-class tax hikes, and backroom deals – in Harry Reid’s bill. The latest special state carve-out to surface was for Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) to raid a trust fund for mine workers. In the past, Sen. Byrd had been a staunch opponent of using the reconciliation process to pass health care reform. Yet he now seems to be changing his mind. Coincidence?

What other sketchy provisions will House Dems have to affirm when they pass the unamended Senate bill? Check out our Research Briefing, “11 Things…” to learn more.