Morning Must Reads: Deem and Pass

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Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

–As Karen and Jay mentioned, all signs point to Speaker Pelosi using the “self-executing rule” to deem the Senate health care bill passed without a full vote on anything but the reconciliation package of fixes. House Dems really don’t want to have an “aye” for the Senate bill’s warts on their record (the “Cornhusker Kickback” ads practically write themselves.) But I would make two points: Voters aren’t aware/won’t remember/don’t care about parliamentary process; it will be passage or not, “yes” or “no” at issue in November. And political attack ads are neither nuanced nor given to dogged devotion to the truth. Saying, “I didn’t vote to pass it, I agreed to deem it passed” is hardly a line that will stick with voters, and it invites charges of Kerryesque flipfloppery. If there’s any risk in “deem and pass” (Ezra Klein thinks there is,) the fact that Democrats are pursuing it is a strong indication the Republican spook campaign succeeded.

Nate Silver identifies ten House Democrats who could plausibly face primary challenges from their left if they vote “no.” Interestingly, six of the ten are from New York (late filing deadline,) where the labor-powered Working Families Party has threatened to withhold support.

–Pelosi is leaving no stone unturned.

–The president is still confident of passage, but he hasn’t yet abandoned the future tense: “I believe we are going to get the votes.”

–Howard Fineman bets on Obama.

Michael writes that the current deluge of health care ads, combined with campaign finance implications of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision, foreshadows an all-out advertising war in the fall.

–Greg Sargent catalogs the latest wave of ads.

–Our colleague Andrew Lee Butters writes that the Obama administration sees the dust-up with Israel over settlement construction as an opportunity to force significant concessions that might jump start peace talks. However, he points out there are political risks for both sides if the standoff drags on for too long.

–Special envoy George Mitchell’s trip to the region is on hold and may be canceled all together.

–Bibi isn’t budging.

–And Colorado holds its precinct caucuses tonight. I think the most interesting race to watch is the Democratic Senate contest. As an appointee, incumbent Michael Bennet is a rookie at dealing with voters, but he’s flush with establishment cash. Andrew Romanoff spent eight years in the state legislature, three as speaker, so he knows his way around Colorado politics.

What did I miss?