Miserabile dictu..., but your analyses are probably the best explanation of what they’re really thinking.
Besides playing perpetual “whack a mole,” I’m really tired of commentators giving this gang a pass with statements like “He just doesn’t get it!” and “He’s out of touch with the American prople,” and “Doesn’t he know the way to create jobs is to lower taxes?” As if we’re dealing with Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum politics.
To take the logic one step farther...
By bringing up immigration reform/amnesty, the only thing more unpopular than HCR, he could possibly swing a few votes by promising to let them vote against it... in exchange for a yea vote on healthcare. How’s that for a bribe? Doesn’t cost anything either, and no paper trail.