Constitutional Nightmare: "Slaughter Solution"

Suddenly there is goofy talk coming from Washington, DC about Congress ramming through a healthcare bill by adopting something called the "Slaughter Solution," named after New York Rep and House Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter. The gist of this "solution" seems to be that the House of Representatives will declare the Health Care Bill passed without ever putting it to a vote. How crazy is that?

If you were a member of Congress, would you seriously want to do something that seems more like a coup d'etat against the government of the United States of America rather than governing? Perhaps I over-react. The Washington Examiner describes the "Slaughter Solution" a bit differently, more a procedural rather than a substantive vote:

"Each bill that comes before the House for a vote on final passage must be given a rule that determines things like whether the minority would be able to offer amendments to it from the floor. In the Slaughter Solution, the rule would declare that the House "deems" the Senate version of Obamacare to have been passed by the House. House members would still have to vote on whether to accept the rule, but they would then be able to say they only voted for a rule, not for the bill itself."

What a lousy way to try to fool the American people! Could have Congress seriously turned this obnoxious? I would like to think that it's healthcare coming apart at the seams and not our Democracy. Luckily, if you would like to review how a bill becomes a law, we still still have an online resource on "How Our Laws are Made" from the Library of Congress. A Pdf of the document by John V. Sullivan, Parliamentarian of the 110th Congress, is included. Come to think of it, maybe you should download a copy to your hard drive just in case.

That's the House's bill hopper pictured above. I found it on a website on How a Bill Becomes a Law from the House Clerk. Designed for kids, it's a little more reader friendly than the pamphlet by John Sullivan.