To pass “Healthcare Reform” yesterday, one last dose of shit had to be added to the soup.
At 4 p.m. ET Sunday, hours after the debate had begun on the floor of the House, Stupak announced that he and seven fellow Democratic holdouts had reached a deal with the White House and would vote in favor of the bill. Their decision ensured that the Democrats would have the votes to pass it.
The battle began in late June, when Stupak and other Democrats who oppose abortion demanded that the bill include specific language banning any taxpayer funding for abortions in new government-funded health insurance exchanges or at community health centers.
Democratic leaders and the White House resisted, saying a precedent set in 1976 with the so-called Hyde Amendment would stand and no abortions would be paid for with government money. That amendment has applied mainly to Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor.
The last-minute compromise: a promise that after the health care bill passed, Obama would sign an executive order affirming that it would not result in any government funding for abortions.
A few anti-shit purists mildly complained, but the chef’s core clientele celebrated in their board-rooms!
The Dow’s pharmaceutical components were among the very few stocks in the black on Monday, as drug-makers are expected to profit from the expansion of health-care coverage. Merck rose 0.3%, while Pfizer climbed 1.1%.
And what were the only remaining alternatives, after 14 months of non-stop “compromise?”
It was either Obama’s shitty soup, or lunatics screaming “nigger” in the streets.