Video: Jim DeMint Exposes Provision in Senate Bill Requiring Super Majority to Overturn ObamaCare

Last night Senator Jim DeMint exposed the Senate majority’s inclusion of a rules change in the health care bill which, under Senate rules, should require a 2/3 majority to pass. In effect, what the democrats have done with the health care legislation is nothing less than “a tyrannical majority … trampling the rights of the minority or of future Congresses.” This is unprecendent, and really quite astounding. The video below is a bit long, with DeMint leading up to this:

There ’s one provision that I found particularly troubling and it’s under section C, titled “Limitations on changes to this subsection.”

And I quote — “It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection.”

This is not legislation. It’s not law. This is a rule change. It’s a pretty big deal. We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a Senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law.

I’m not even sure that it’s constitutional, but if it is, it most certainly is a Senate rule. I don’t see why the majority party wouldn’t put this in every bill. If you like your law, you most certainly would want it to have force for future Senates.

I mean, we want to bind future Congresses. This goes to the fundamental purpose of Senate rules: to prevent a tyrannical majority from trampling the rights of the minority or of future Congresses.

Ed Morrissey questioned whether this is constitutional and noted this makes Harry Reid dictator of the Senate – forever!

As I recall, Congress is not allowed to pass rules that bind future Congresses. In the House, the rules have to be offered and approved at the beginning of each session. The Senate has standing rules, but they are not in the form of law that requires further legislation to alter — legislation that would be, under this bill, out of order even to introduce. It basically makes Harry Reid the dictator of the Senate, not just now, but in perpetuity.

Is it unconstitutional? The ability of each Congress to govern itself is certainly strongly implied in Article I, Section 5: ….

Erick Erickson is correct in pointing out that we are no longer a nation of laws.

If ever the people of the United States rise up and fight over passage of Obamacare, Harry Reid must be remembered as the man who sacrificed the dignity of his office for a few pieces of silver. The rules of fair play that have kept the basic integrity of the Republic alive have died with Harry Reid. Reid has slipped in a provision into the health care legislation prohibiting future Congresses from changing any regulations imposed on Americans by the Independent Medicare [note: originally referred to as "medical"] Advisory Boards, which are commonly called the “Death Panels.”

It was Reid leading the Democrats who ignored 200 years of Senate precedents to rule that Senator Sanders could withdraw his amendment while it was being read.

It was Reid leading the Democrats who has determined again and again over the past few days that hundreds of years of accumulated Senate parliamentary rulings have no bearing on the health care vote.

On December 21, 2009, however, Harry Reid sold out the Republic in toto.

 I believe we’ve come to a point where it’s necessary to DumpDC.