The Blogosphere is on fire this morning over the Rinos both past and present according to Feed your ADHD, the lack of a Baucus Bill, etc etc. Here is how it went down, and how I learned about it.
First I heard of it was from BnGFan, she said “I'm Done” with the Republicans and has joined the Libertarian party. All this because of reports that the Republicans are getting all limp wristed and as our favorite clown prince would say, “their balls are falling off”. To BlackandGoldFan, Girl, I ain’t far behind ya. So that piqued my interest and right below that piece on the ole fellow KOOK blogroll I read what Opus#6 had to say. Opie was giving linky love to Legal Insurrection and reposted that There is no Baucus Bill. Hmmm No Baucus Bill you say… but haven’t I been hearing all about the Baucus Bill in the Senate? Yes I have, but it seems that still There is No Baucus Bill so how can the CBO score a bill that doesn’t exist? I had to find out more… so I went to The Sundries Shack (gotta check this one out more) and then I learned how a rabid wolverine could help the situation:
If You Hear This Week That Max Baucus Was Attacked by a Wolverine, Here’s Why %20NPS%20PHOTO%20WolverinePhoto.jpg)
It Happened.
Last month, the Republicans members of the Senate Finance Committee asked to have the CBO score the bill introduced by Max Baucus (D-MT). The Democrats on the committee, led by Baucus and Kent Conrad said they’d only let the CBO do what it does best if it could use “plain language” wording instead of the far more precise legislative language and. Conrad patiently explained to all the dullards in America (which is 95 percent of us) that we couldn’t possibly understand the legislative language because it was all hard and stuff.
The head of the CBO, however, said there was no way his outfit could calculate the real cost of the bill without, well, the actual bill, deucedly difficult language and all. I guess he figured he was in the five percent Conrad was willing to allow could understand Congressspeak. Well, the Republicans’ proposal not to treat America like we’re drooling idiots failed on mostly a party line vote not once but twice.
Well, the CBO went ahead and scored the Baucus Summary (it’s not a bill until it’s written in legislative language. You know, like an actual law) and, lo and behold, it’s not a huge deficit-buster! In fact, it will reduce the deficit by $81 billion. Such a miracle, it is!
Except that it’s not actually a miracle. Just as the CBO said last month, there’s no way it can accurately gauge the cost of the bill until it’s actually a bill. What the CBO really scored were concepts, explained in the most Obamacare-friendly manner by the Democrats. Of course those concepts will end up saving money and spontaneously producing unicorns whose emanations smell like begonias. Experience teaches us otherwise, does it not?
I don’t blame the CBO for this, though it will take a lot of blame, especially from the Democrats when Obamacare finally blows up in its face. Doug Elmendorf, who heads up the office, is in a bad position. He’s pretty much bound to do what Congress wants him to do, even if puts him in the position of Dilbert before the Pointy-Headed Boss. The only way he can get out of the bad position the Democrats have put him in with any sort of grace is to lob a starving wolverine onto Max Baucus’ head and sneak away amidst the confusion. Baucus could save himself a vicious wolverine-savaging by doing his job, coming up with a bill, and not by using Doug Elmendorf as a human shield for his fiscal shell game.
Lastly there are reports that the Damn Dems are going to use one of the oldest tricks in the dirty playbook to pass some meaningless bill or even use a bill that has already passed and amend the Obamacare language into it. GAH!
