Sen. Coburn Says Democrats "Concocted" A Procedure To Pass The Cornhusker Kickback

As the fight over health care reform comes down to the wire, Republican lawmakers are intensifying their efforts to convince the public that Democrats are making unsavory deals and breaking the rules to pass the bill.  In recent days, for example, there has been "a ridiculous level of misinformation and disinformation" about "deem and pass," a relatively ordinary parliamentary procedure that will allow the House to vote on the Senate bill and the reconciliation fixes simultaneously. 

Writing at Yahoo! News today, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) continued to grossly distort the Democrats' intentions.  According to Coburn:

The American people have good reason to be concerned. The bill that may become law in a few days is not a collection of so-called fixes or compromises but the exact bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve that was filled with backroom deals such as the Cornhusker Kickback. [...]

House leaders are so ashamed of the Senate bill that they have concocted a procedural process to pass the Senate bill without having a direct vote.

On the substance of the bill, the plan all along has been to "fix" the bill that already passed the Senate, not to enact it in its current form.  One of the main changes Democrats want to make is removing the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback." In an attempt to put House Democrats on the hook for the Nebraska deal, Republicans have argued that the existing bill must be signed into law before it can be fixed.  But, regardless, Democrats intend to make health care reform law without the "Cornhusker Kickback" by next week.    

Furthermore, Coburn's claim that Democrats have "concocted" a procedural process is a bald-faced lie.  Coburn is referring to the self-executing rule -- also known as "deem and pass" -- which Republicans used more than 35 times in 2005 and 2006.  Yesterday, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) argued that "deem and pass" is unconstitutional moments before admitting that he had voted for self-executing rules on multiple occasions. Even House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) has conceded that the procedure is legitimate. 

Unfortunately, Republicans continue to show no interest in having an argument based on facts.  They simply want to kill the bill, no matter what it takes.