SPIN METER: Controversial procedure offers political shelter for vulnerable Democrats

SPIN METER: Political insulation for health care

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans are in full cry against tactics the Democrats want to use to pass a less-than-popular overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

The Democrats’ scheme “tramples on the Constitution,” Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., told tea party activists this week. House GOP leader John Boehner said on his Web site that it “takes shame to a whole new level.”

But the tactics are nothing new — they’ve been employed at least since the 1930s — and have been used by both parties to pass major legislation. So what’s the fuss about?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scraping for every possible Democratic vote as she tries to assemble a majority to pass Obama’s top legislative priority in the House. But the bill, already cleared by the Senate, is carrying some politically toxic cargo, including an unseemly Medicaid subsidy for the state of Nebraska used to secure a senator’s vote.

Her solution: Get House Democrats to hold their noses and vote for the bill, with the promise that the objectionable bits will be taken out in a separate, follow-up “fix-it” bill.

But that wasn’t enough for some vulnerable Democrats, who feared voting for anything that might be used in an attack ad by a future political opponent. So Pelosi went one step farther, suggesting a tricky parliamentary maneuver that might give her rank-and-file at least a thin layer of insulation.

Rather than vote directly on the Senate bill, lawmakers could vote for a routine procedural resolution that would contain an automatic trigger “deeming” the Senate bill to be passed by the House. Everyone would know that the vote was really for the Senate bill, but nervous lawmakers would be given room to argue that they hadn’t directly supported it.

Such attempts to muddy the water are a staple of congressional procedure, and are often used to shield lawmakers from unpopular votes. For example:

—In 1993, majority Democrats used the tactic to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act over objections that it would be a burden on businesses.

—In 1996, with Republicans in the majority, the House used it to give the president the line-item veto. It was later found unconstitutional.

—In 1997, the House’s GOP leaders used the procedure to ban statistical sampling in the Census. Sampling was advocated by minorities to remedy what they saw as undercounting of their populations.

—In 2005, again with Republicans in the majority, it was used to help pay for tax cuts by slowing the growth of Medicaid, student lending and other programs.