" Deem and Pass " Scam

In a day when we are spending more than we will ever be able to pay back, is it too much to ask Congress to actually follow the Constitution with how they pass legislation? I realize that to the majority of the current Washington D.C. crowd the Constitution of the United States of America is nothing more than an inconvenience standing in the way of progress. This tactic, however, is going a little too far and may create the backlash of an awakening public that one could only dream about happening. ABCNEWS.com posted a blog tonight titled, Obama Not Worried About “Procedural Rules” like “Deem and Pass” for Health Care.

President Obama said today that he is not too worried about the controversial “deem and pass” strategy being considered on Capitol Hill, and that members should not “pretend” that a vote, in whatever form it ends up taking, is anything other than a vote for or against reform.

It saddens me that our Nation's leader is not bothered by the circumventing of our Constitution so that his legislation project can be passed in any manner necessary. And why is it necessary to use such methods? Because the majority of people are against the legislation and enough congressmen have actually heard the people and are, believe it or not, actually representing them rather than the Party that they think employs them. From the Washington Post: House may try to pass Senate health-care bill without voting on it

Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under the House rule for that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers "deem" the health-care bill to be passed. The tactic -- known as a "self-executing rule" or a "deem and pass" -- has been commonly used, although never to pass legislation as momentous as the $875 billion health-care bill. It is one of three options that Pelosi said she is considering for a late-week House vote, but she added that she prefers it because it would politically protect lawmakers who are reluctant to publicly support the measure.

I need to ask the question, why would a law maker be inclined to go along with this? Are there payoffs and backroom deals that they don't want to have come to light? Our public officials should have their name attached to anything and everything they pass. If it is something they are ashamed of and want anonymity, they should not be voting for it. This process is just plain wrong and the results of it are detrimental to the welfare of our nation.