Two days ago, I wrote about Boulder Representative Jared Polis (D-Colo.), his co-sponsorship of H.R. 676, and his vote against the House tri-committee health care reform bill in the Education & Labor Committee. The Congressional Progressive Caucus member posted in the diary -- a classy move I thought -- but I wasn't fully satisfied with his response.
Today, I come to talk about Representative Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). I grew up in this congressional district, which previously had been occupied by Tom Davis (R), and before that Leslie Byrne (D). My parents, who still live in the same House my siblings and I grew up, are represented by Gerry Connolly.
The Wall Street Journal reports today that Gerry Connolly organized a group of freshman pleading their case to the White House against the sharp increase in taxes. Now if this were all Connolly did, I would be fine. But a month and a half ago, the Fairfax County Representative advocated strongly against taxing in any way employer-provided health benefits. "You know, those health benefits are very important to my constituents, and I don't think they would welcome seeing those benefits somehow reduced ... by taxing or affected negatively by taxing," my parents' Representative was quoted.
I'm sorry, but this isn't good enough. As I've said before, the fate of the Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate in 2010 and the White House in 2012 depend on passage of the health care reform bill. If health care reform fails, Democrats will lose credibility and their political trust over Republicans on an issue that consistently ranks among the biggest of voter concerns. Democrats will be in the same position that Republicans have been in the last six months -- little political credibility on any issue. If health care reform fails, saying that you voted against a major tax increase isn't going to give any member political asylum. So as Chris Matthews said so well a few weeks back, it's not a question of whether we can get health care reform done; it's a question of whether we as a nation can overcome the obstacles preventing us from getting health care reform done.