The democrats are playing with fire

Over at RedState they have an excellent explanation of what's likely to happen with the health care bill this week if the democrats decide to ram it through using trickeration, over the opposition of the American people. Basically, since they can't pass, even with reconciliation, a bill for Obama to sign, they're considering what's known as the Slaughter Rule, named for House Rules Chairman Louise Slaughter. Here's the gist of it....

Article 1 Section 7 of the Constitution says basically that any bill brought before the President must have been passed in precisely the same form, word for word, by both houses of congress with a yes/no vote having been taken. But the democrats haven't been able to do that yet with health care so they have an ace up their sleeve called the slaughter rule:

Unable to pass the Senate bill in the House, unable to pass ANY bill in the Senate (thank you Massachusetts), and thwarted in their attempt at reconciliation parlor tricks, the Democrats have hatched a plan. The House will vote on and (presumably) pass a new bill, which is the Senate Bill with amendments. Call it House Bill #2. House Rules Chairman Louise Slaughter will propose a rule deeming the Senate bill to be “passed”, the new rule will be voted on and (presumably) approved by the House, and the amended bill — House Bill #2 — will be sent to Obama to be signed into law

Essentially the House democrats will pass a bill that declares the health care bill to be "passed" without actually voting on the health care bill itself. They'll send it to Obama and he'll stupidly sign it....essentially sealing his political fate to one-term. The national ramifications of doing this will be immediate and apocalyptic, starting with a Supreme Court ruling within days and various states passing legislation basically voiding it. It'll be a mess. Head on over to RedState and read about it.

UPDATE: Here's what Constitutional scholar Mark Levin had to say about this:

Let me be as clear as I know how. If this is done, this will create the greatest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. It would be 100 times worse than Watergate.

…It would be government by fiat… meaning there would be no law… the mere discussion by officials in this government is such a grotesque violation of the actual legislative function of Congress [that it] puts us… at the brink. At the brink.

This is why we conservatives revere the Constitution. This is why we stress the Constitution’s words have meaning and historical context and must be complied with. Because otherwise we have anarchy, which leads to tyranny.

Pay attention this week people. America is at a crossroads.