HEALTH VOTE TWO DAYS AWAY – AT 7:37 A.M. ET:  This will be an extraordinary weekend in our political lifetime.  Americans are aware of that.  And I have never sensed the sadness that I feel coming over this nation, in response to a domestic issue.

It's as if we're losing something truly American, and we are.  To watch the once-great Democratic Party at work is to watch an organization whose worst characteristics are now dominant - the power of its left wing, contempt for the voters it claims to represent, and a big-city-machine style of politics that offends the sensibilities.  Further, I think there's a genuine sadness that Barack Obama has proved to be such a complete disappointment.  Far removed from the elegant and sometimes inspirational candidate that he was, he today acts more like a political thug, bullying friends at home and allies abroad. 

Some compare Obama to Jimmah Carter.  It's a poor comparison.  Obama is far more dangerous because he has political gifts that Carter lacked.  And Obama has a built-in, rigidly loyal constituency that Carter also lacked.  Further, the Republican opposition had, waiting in the wings, one Ronald Reagan, ready to take on Carter in 1980.  I do not see a Reagan today, but I hope I'm wrong.

It is impossible to get a precise vote count on the health bill, heading into the weekend.  Michael Barone still maintains that Nancy Pelosi still lacks the votes needed to pass the bill in a normal, democratic manner.  Thus, it's widely accepted that the Dems will resort to parliamentary maneuvers that may be open to Constitutional challenge.  What a way to dispense with one sixth of the nation's economy, and a life-or-death issue for Americans. 

There is still hope.  The Republicans are gearing up for a major fight, and have their own parliamentarians at work.  There will be rulings and points of order.  The one thing the Dems don't want is for this bill to have to be returned to the Senate for further votes.  The Republicans believe they can bottle it up in the upper house.

So fasten your seatbelts, as Bette said, it's going to be a bumpy night, and a bumpy weekend ahead.  With the president openly boasting that the gimmicks the Dems plan to use might be used on other bills as well, we may be fighting this weekend for the future of genuine democracy itself.

March 19,  2010