The Sting

Republican glee is unrestrained at the shape the Senate bill is taking.

It seems that the more the GOP has shaped, mis-shaped, deformed, and distorted the original Democratic legislation ...the more we Democrats work for its passage.

All of that is leading up to a vote on a bill that will bear no resemblance to what Democratic voters hoped for last November.

In fact, it's getting worse already.

In an attempt to "reform the reform" before passage, the White House and Congressional leaders have taken-on the proposed excise tax on high-cost health insurance policies (sometimes called "the Cadillac tax" or, more disparagingly "the Chevy tax.")

The provision is similar to what John McCain proposed during his campaign much to the horror of most voters: tax people who already have health insurance policies costing more than $8500 per year (or $23000 for families.)

How is it getting worse already?  Last week, workers whose health insurance comes from collective bargaining with their employers legitimately complained that they were bound by their union contracts and would not be able to avoid the tax.

So on Thursday, union workers and government employees at the state and local level were given an exemption from the tax until 2018.

Republicans are already beating Democrats over the head with this new exemption.  With much joy, they are dusting off all the old anti-union and anti-government propaganda in hopes of swaying voters who are not exempt.

But that just makes us Democrats fight even harder for what is essentially a GOP designed bill (but one that no Republican will vote for.)  The President has now weighed-in heavily for the bill's passage saying Thursday that it "is a fight I want to have" ...and has taken full control of the negotiations.

We Democrats might not have to wait until November to feel the sting of passing this GOP designed time-bomb.

On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will go to the polls in a special election to fill Ted Kennedy's senate seat.  Even though Kennedy was a life-long champion of health care reform ...and even though we Democrats have controlled that seat for more than 50 years ...the race is now a tight fight with a little known Republican state senator.

What should have been a cakewalk for Ted Kennedy's successor has turned into a mini-referendum on the proposed health care reform.  We'll all have the final results on Wednesday ...just in time for the President's one-year anniversary in office.