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Pelosi’s health care monstrosity passed last night on the votes of 219 Democrats and Rep. Joseph Cao, a first-term Republican who holds an overwhelmingly Democratic seat in New Orleans. Opposed were 176 Republicans and 39 Democrats. The 220-215 vote sends it to the Senate. This is really no surprise, we knew it would come down to the Senate.

Here are a couple of facts to remember. It only passed by five votes. Who would even have believed that in February? At that time we all assumed it would roll in on a tidal wave. Recall that Obama gave a deadline of the end of July, not just to have a vote in the House, but to have a bill on his desk to sign. Here we are in November with a bill finally coming to a vote and barely passing. It wouldn’t have passed at all had the Democrats not agreed to toughen restrictions on government funded abortion Friday night.

That narrow margin and long delay, in combination with the results in New Jersey and Virgina mean that nothing remotely like what passed last night will ever pass the Senate.

The passage of the monstrosity will create even more scrutiny from even the most apathetic Americans. Very few middle class Americans are really stupid enough to believe that a Leviathan state spending $1.7 trillion and subsidizing health care for millions who don’t have now will reduce their costs or improve their access to health care. Pelosi’s claim that it will is an absurd farce and, as more people look at the details, opposition will grow.

Saturday Obama said, “The bill that the House has produced will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality, affordable options for those who don’t; and lower costs for American families and American businesses.” Each and every word of that statement was a lie. It will not increase stability for those who have insurance, providing it to those who don’t will come on the shoulders of the middle class and it will absolutely, positively increase costs for families and businesses. Obama assumes the American people are stupid and acts accordingly.

The Founders designed the Senate to be a cooler, more deliberative body than the House of Representatives. Edmund Randolph, delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention, called for senators to be, “”less than the House of Commons… to restrain, if possible, the fury of democracy.” According to James Madison, “The use of the Senate is to consist in proceeding with more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom, than the popular branch.” They built the Senate to perform as the last firewall. Sadly, some of the design features have since been changed. Popular vote for Senators, for example.

Still, it is going to be a tough battle for Democrats to get anything looking remotely like last night’s monstrosity through the Senate. Now is not the time to lose heart. Now is the time to double down on pressure on your Senators. Make sure they hear your opposition to Pelosi’s freedom crushing, authoritarian thief of wealth and access.

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