AP, earning their donuts

Associated Press:

Planned Sat. vote on health care may be delayed

WASHINGTON — A House leader says Democrats haven't yet lined up enough votes to pass their health care overhaul bill and may push the vote set for Saturday back one day or more.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland says the vote that House Democrats had scheduled for Saturday could slip to Sunday or early next week.

Hoyer acknowledged to reporters Friday that Democratic leaders don't yet have the 218 votes needed. He said he still expects passage Saturday night. But he added that some Democrats are still "looking to get a comfort level" with the bill.

Republicans are unanimously opposed to the sweeping legislation.

Sounds bad, right? But wait. Maybe that's not the whole story. TPM's Brian Beutler to the rescue:

Hoyer: Vote Expected Saturday, But Could Be Pushed Back

On a conference call with reporters this morning, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that Democrats are "very close" to securing the 218 votes needed to pass health care legislation, but that Republican delay tactics, and perhaps even intra-Democratic disputes over abortion and immigration issues, could force a delay on final passage, potentially until Tuesday of next week.

"Assuming...that we follow the schedule we have set, my expectation is we will finish debate on the bill, on the Republican substitute, and will be voting on the rule and the substitute and the bill, and will have final passage...by 7 to 8 o'clock tomorrow night," Hoyer said.

However, if Republicans use procedural tactics to push the vote back, or to try and poison the bill, Hoyer wants them to be on notice that they could get called back for a vote on Sunday afternoon, Monday, or even Tuesday--the day before Veterans Day.

"Clearly, things happen, and delaying tactics can be employed...all I've done is make sure everybody understands that we're going to complete this effort," Hoyer said.

Both stories share a common thread: the vote that is planned for Saturday may not happen until Tuesday. But while the AP claims the reason is that Democrats are struggling to get 218 votes, TPM makes it clear that Hoyer's concern isn't about getting the 218 votes he needs, it's about the delays that could be caused by votes on substantive amendments and Republican procedural tactics.

It's completely valid to point out that the House health care vote may slip past Saturday, but if you're going to make a big deal about it, you should at least be honest about the reasons why.