Last week, Senate Republicans were given bad news by Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough. She doesn\u2019t believe Republicans can bypass cloture and repeal Obamacare with a simple majority by attaching its repeal to a spending bill.<\/p>\n
As a libertarian, I\u2019m glad to hear it. No, I do not like Obamacare any more than I like most other government programs, especially those that further enrich multi-billion dollar corporations on my dime. But I\u2019m glad it\u2019s still difficult to get things through the Senate. That\u2019s how it\u2019s supposed to be.<\/p>\n
But progressives should feel differently. The should want to see at least two bills pass both houses, one repealing Obamacare and one blocking the president\u2019s immigration policies. Progressives profess a belief in democracy and the Republicans have been democratically elected to both houses. Whether you agree with them or not, there\u2019s no question repealing Obamacare and reversing the president\u2019s immigration agenda were two of their strongest mandates.<\/p>\n
If progressives truly believe in democracy, they should take the high ground and demand that Democratic senators stand aside and allow a repeal of Obamacare to pass in the Senate. They kicked and screamed when Republicans used Senate rules to block legislation when Democrats had a majority in that house. Now, the shoe is on the other foot.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to find out if the Democrats are any more principled than the Republicans. If it was wrong for Republicans to \u201cobstruct\u201d the Democrat\u2019s agenda for the past ten years, if they were truly undermining the government\u2019s ability to do the will of the people, then it is just as wrong for Democrats to use the same tactics now. If we truly live in a democracy, Democratic senators should accept the verdict of the people and let Republicans pass their bills.<\/p>\n
Ironically, they could do just that without worrying too much that their precious health care program would go away, precisely because we don\u2019t live in a democracy. The president\u2019s veto is just one of the many checks built into our Constitution to protect us from democracy. There are several others.<\/p>\n