The Sadness Of SCHIP

So today the House GOP is going to set an explosion inside their own caucus by voting to ignore the American people and sustain a veto on children's health insurance expansion. They even have visual aids.

For those with bad eyes, Mr. (Iowa Rep. Steve) King has created a chart claiming the S-CHIP really stands for “socialized Clinton-style Hillarycare for Illegals and their Parents.”

Guys, you’ve done outdone yerselves on this one. Please, please, please keep insulting middle-class families who can’t afford health insurance. I guarantee that it will launch you right back into power.

With whom are the American people going to associate themselves? A callous liar like Steve King, or Pete Stark?

First of all, I'm just amazed they can't figure out, the Republicans are worried we can't pay for insuring an additional 10 million children. They sure don't care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where ya gonna get that money? You going to tell us lies like you're telling us today? Is that how you're going to fund the war? You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement. This bill would provide healthcare for 10 million children and unlike the President's own kids, these children can't see a doctor or receive necessary care. [...]

But President Bush's statements about children's health shouldn't be taken any more seriously than his lies about the war in Iraq. The truth is that Bush just likes to blow things up. In Iraq, in the United States and in Congress.

In the end, the Democrats will press this issue, House Republicans will not be able to take the pressure, and this bill will be made law, maybe with a cosmetic change here or there. But the pain of this vote will resonate all the way to November.

"What will happen is they’ll lose the override. They’ll make cosmetic changes and our guys will cave," Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) said Tuesday during an appearance at the National Press Club. "And at what cost? Our guys will get beaten up ... SCHIP is a dumb fight."

No wonder Davis is talking down a Senate run and sounding increasingly like a baby about it. His party is throwing itself in the lake and nobody seems to want to stop it. I agree that the right can't let up on health care because Democrats will actually be seen as protectors of the middle class, collapsing their coalition. But that's happening right now, anyway. It's a hole that will take a generation to crawl out of. Today the House will witness the beginning of the permanent Republican minority.

UPDATE: The final vote was 273-156, 16 votes short. The Republicans had almost nobody flip from the initial vote. Down the drain they go.