Do House Democrats "Feel Lucky"?
Two salient facts for House Democrats: If so much as one comma of the bill is changed in the Senate, it will be coming back to the House for yet another vote.
Republicans plan to raise points of order on some of the least savory aspects of ObamaCare -- including the special deals for certain states -- and force Democrats to make tough votes. The American people will be highly aware of every ugly detail by the time they're done.
What's more, some senators and staff are projecting that as much as 40% of the bill could be killed through the reconciliation process. Even if they're wrong about 3/4 of that, fully 10% of the bill could be eliminated, and no one knows which parts.
If Senate Democrats can't "run the table" for wavering House Democrats when it comes to reconciliation, politically vulnerable congressmen will be voting again on an altered ObamaCare package -- one that the public already hates and, by then, will hate even more -- much, much closer to election day. So what confronts House Dems? The "Dirty Harry question": Do you feel lucky? Do you?