Sorry, Not Enough House Votes To Pass Health Care Bill Without a Public Option
Jane Hamsher rightly calls out Obama for choosing the tougher fight. There are 64 Democrats who won't vote for a bill in the House that doesn't have a public option. There are far fewer Democrats who will vote against a bill with one.
What was once the defining feature of the Obama health care plan has now been dismissed with a bipartisan flourish.
There are 57 Democrats who signed the July 30 letter saying that they "simply cannot vote" for a bill that "at minimum" does not have a public plan (PDF). There are 7 more not listed on the letter who have pledged to vote against any bill that does not have a robust public plan. That makes 64 Democrats who won't vote for the "co-ops" that both Kathleen Sibelius and Robert Gibbs say the White House is "open" to.
Do the math: 257 - 64 = 193. They need 218 to pass the bill. They don't have the votes.
It makes no sense for Rahm to choose to bully 64 Democrats when he only needs to bully 3 or 4 in the Senate.
Zero sense. Just do the math, Rahm. I thought you were supposed to be so smart?
FDL Action: Let’s Whip the Public Plan!
Unless Obama and Rahm want to be responsible for the greatest legislative failure in modern American history, they're going to refocus their bully pulpit on the Democrats who are fighting the 76% of the American public who want a public option.
Update [2009-8-17 14:14:4 by liberal shopper]:
Here's Kent Conrad on Fox News:
The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option, there never have been, so to continue to chase that rabbit is just a wasted effort.
It's a wasted effort to pursue a plan without a public option, Kent Conrad (D-Fox).
Do the math. 3 or 4 Senate Democrats vs. 64 House Democrats.
Update [2009-8-17 15:12:58 by liberal shopper]: Note to Rahm: What do you think is going to happen in 2010 if you force 64 Progressive House members to trash their signed pledge to their constituents? Do you think their voters are going to defend them? Do you think they're going to vote for a candidate who broke their pledge? Think again.
Update [2009-8-17 15:27:57 by liberal shopper]: For those of you who believe 25 or more House Dems who signed the pledge will fold and renege on their promise, I think the answer is easy:
For any Democrat who reneges on their signed pledge, Progressives promise to remove them from office. Simple as that. That's a promise we can actually keep without much trouble really. We don't organize for people who break signed promises to their constituents.