We're still awaiting official word on what 39 Democrats voted against the Health Care Reform bill, but I found out this morning that my representative, Chet Edwards (TX-17), would vote against it. (Update: I see from the diaries posted as I wrote this that Edwards has been confirmed as a no vote.)
"After listening to thousands of my constituents and carefully reviewing the legislation, I have made a decision to vote "no" on the House health care reform bill," Edwards said Saturday.
"Given the huge federal deficits facing our nation, I believe there is too much new spending in this bill.
"I am especially disappointed that the bill does not have a fiscal trigger in it to cut spending if actual costs of new programs turn out to be higher than projected," he said.
"I also have concerns about a government-run "public option" insurance company and question whether this bill goes far enough in actually reducing health care costs for working families and businesses," he said.
The above sure sound like Republican talking points, huh?
Honestly, though, this does not surprise me one bit. This is where I live:
We're deep in the heart of Texas. I live one mile from Texas A&M University, which Princeton Review said in July has the most conservative student body in the nation. Just outside of Waco is Crawford, home to Bush 43's ranch. The Cook PVI rating for this district is R+20, making us the most conservative district to have a Democratic representative.
All things considered, maybe we're lucky to have a Democratic rep. All the candidates that go up against him on the Republican side come general election time make Michelle Bachman look sane. Edwards also has relatively-high approval ratings among three important groups in the district; Veterans, Farmers, and Aggies (former grad, works in a lot of pork sent to our university).
I don't know what brought the other 38 to vote against true reform. What probably made Edwards vote against it was fear. My first diary here in August told you how local conservatives protested a charity event for a local food bank just because Edwards would be in attendance. When he finally held a town hall here, he worked the crowd there pretty well, but did not placate his constituency at large. This was probably a CYA for next year, when he will have the full power of the NRCC behind the Republican candidate.
I'm not trying to excuse his vote. I know that his vote could've harmed millions in this country, and thousands in his district. That being said, he wasn't elected because of his stance on health care, and he won't be defeated because of it either. I see immediate talk on here about primarying all 39 of the no votes, and I can't help but wonder, who? Is it even possible for a pro-health care reform Democrat to be elected in this district in the general? Should we just be happy that we have one Democrat who is rather well-rated by some progressive groups (including NARAL), providing a lone voice to Texan progressives despite Tom DeLay's best efforts a few years ago?
I guess I'm still trying to answer these questions for myself. What I do know is, I'd rather have a center-left representative who happens to vote against what is right on one issue than another Texan right-wing nutjob.