Obama openly calls for Reconciliation on Health Care

I called this one, but that was no special feat.  Obama made it clear in his public address today that he would be using the reconciliation process to force the passage of Health Care.  The process that will be used going forward is not easy or simple, but here it is in a nut shell.

First.   Obama has proposed some modifications to the bill passed in the Senate.  Due to the modifications, the bill must pass another Senate vote.  This is why the reconciliation process will have to be used.

Second.   The modified Senate bill must pass the House of Representatives with a simple majority.  For those that do not know, this is normal operating procedure in the House.  Only the Senate requires a super majority.  This should pose a challenge as the change in abortion funding between the two bills is a hotly contested issue on the Democratic side.  However, Nancy Pelosi has assured the White House that she can produce the votes needed.

Third.  Reconciliation the "Nuclear Option" - In this approach, the bill that passes in the House would then be voted on in the Senate using the reconciliation process.  This is the riskiest part of all.  Normally this procedure is used only for budgetary measures that impact up to a 5 year budget.  Therefore, the CBO would be asked to score the Health Care plan over a 5-year period instead of 10.  This will probably produces some very interesting numbers.  This 5-year report could prove unsavory enough that the embattled Reid would not be able to muster even the simple majority necessary. 

Obama may have forgotten the Massachusetts lesson already but many Democrats, in tough election battles this year, have not.