The Hill reported today that there have already been 23 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who have publicly proclaimed that they will not support a government overhaul of the health care industry as proposed by President Barack Obama and liberals in Congress.
In the article “Already, 23 Dems Have Said They Will Vote ‘No’ on Healthcare Reform,” Mike Soraghan and Michael M. Gleeson outline the opposition of these Democrats, explaining that they justify their “nay” vote by pointing out the imposition of new taxes on individuals, the creation of fines on businesses who fail to provide insurance for their employees and the staggering price tag of the proposals. For some, these concerns are only exacerbated by the legislation’s provision for a mandatory abortion subsidy.
The Hill lists the following Democrats as those who have indicated they would vote against Obamacare:
- John Adler (N.J.)
- Jason Altmire (Pa.)
- John Barrow (Ga.)
- Dan Boren (Okla.)
- Rick Boucher (Va.)
- Allen Boyd (Fla.)
- Bobby Bright (Ala.)
- Travis Childers (Miss.)
- Jim Costa (Calif.)
- Henry Cuellar (Texas)
- Parker Griffith (Ala.)
- Frank Kratovil (Md.)
- Betsy Markey (Colo.)
- Eric Massa (N.Y.)
- Jim Matheson (Utah)
- Charlie Melancon (La.)
- Walt Minnick (Idaho)
- Tom Perriello (Va.)
- Earl Pomeroy (N.D.)
- Heath Shuler (N.C.)
- Bart Stupak (Mich.)
- John Tanner (Tenn.)
- Gene Taylor (Miss.)
A few Congressional Democrats have become especially outspoken critics of the proposals, including Congressman Gene Taylor (D-MS) and Congressman John Adler (D-NJ).
Some are definitive. There’s Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), a Blue Dog who is one of the most conservative members of the Democratic Caucus. He told a town hall meeting last month, “I would hope by now that everyone in this room knows that I am not going to vote for the healthcare plan.”
Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), a vulnerable Democrat, was equally blunt. He told a group of constituents last month, “The bill that’s coming through the House, with or without the public option, isn’t good for America.”
Still, there are some Democratic lawmakers who remain undecided on their stance, weighing the consequences of scathing public sentiment and partisan solidarity.
Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), who unseated an incumbent in 2008 by a scant 745 votes, said at a town hall meeting, “I am a ‘no’ now, but I really want to get to a ‘yes.’ ”
And plenty of others aren’t ready to take a position.
“I’ll do the best I can, but I don’t know what’s the right thing to do yet,” Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) told the Los Angeles Times after a town hall meeting. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t even know what we’re going to be voting on.”
Moreover, there are some Democrats who reject the bill “in its current form” but do not appear to rule out other reform initiatives. It seems that they perceive the public option as a widely unpopular proposal and have voiced their disapproval of this particular bill as a means to shield themselves from unhappy constituents as they work towards passage of alternative legislation.
Others, such as Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), say they can’t support the bill “in its current form.” The bill is widely expected to change before it goes to the House floor, but if Pelosi keeps the public option in the bill, many centrists will see it as a left-leaning bill.
Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), who unseated an incumbent in 2008 by a scant 745 votes, said at a town hall meeting, “I am a ‘no’ now, but I really want to get to a ‘yes.’ ”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) expressed that she is unconcerned with these dissenters within her party, arguing that their votes would not be necessary to pass the sweeping forms that progressives desire.
The Pelosi camp, for its part, sees no reason to be discouraged.
“The Congress will pass and the president will sign this year health insurance reform that will lower costs, retain choice, improve quality and expand coverage,” said Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami.
Pelosi has vowed to include in the bill a government-run insurance plan, commonly called a “public option,” to compete with private insurers.
It is apparent that this hardline approach to health care reform is meant to appease far-Left lawmakers, special interests and media. With members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), pro-Obamacare special interests and liberals in the blogosphere demanding a public option, Speaker Pelosi must answer to their call for single-payer philosophy to dictate the legislation produced.
But deleting the public option won’t make life easier for Pelosi.
At least 60 liberal Democrats have pledged to vote against a healthcare bill with no public option, which they view as watered-down reform.
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) has said dropping the public option completely would lose 100 Democratic votes.
If moderate Democrats hold out on the public option and liberal Democrats block a “compromise” measure, such as a co-operatives system or “trigger” phase-in, what choices remain for Congress? Certainly, Speaker Pelosi, despite being far more liberal than nearly all of her colleagues in the House, has achieved enormous success in agenda-setting and ensuring the passage of progressive legislation since she assumed her leadership role in 2007.
Even Pelosi’s critics and skeptics have to concede that she has almost never lost in the House since becoming Speaker. The main exception is the first vote on the $700 billion bailout package requested by the Bush administration, which later passed.
She twisted arms one by one in July to pass a climate change bill despite deep skepticism among centrists and Democrats from manufacturing states. But some of the public backlash from that has frightened and angered centrist and vulnerable members.
Health care reform might be the exception. The Hill asserts that if all Republicans vote against the proposals, Speaker Pelosi “can afford to lose only 38 members of her 256-member caucus and still pass the bill.” The Blue Dog Coalition, made up of 2 members, has already issued several statements that indicate their group opposes health care reform legislation as it is currently presented by their liberal colleagues and the Obama Administration.
President Obama will address Congress in a prime-time television broadcast Wednesday evening to offer his Administration’s vision for health care reform, as lawmakers return from August Recess to debate the legislation after meeting with interest groups and their constituents at town halls in their home districts.
