Posted on 03/10/2010 6:20:55 PM PST by neverdem
The Senate bill's abortion language is not the House Speaker's only problem.
Are there enough votes in the House to pass the Senate's health-care bill? As of today, it's clear there aren't. House Democratic leaders have brushed aside White House calls to bring the bill forward by March 18, when President Barack Obama heads to Asia. Nevertheless, analysts close to the Democratic leadership tell me they're confident the leadership will find some way to squeeze out the 216 votes needed for a majority.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indeed shown mastery at amassing majorities. But it's hard to see how she'll do so on this one. The arithmetic as I see it doesn't add up.
The House passed its version of the health bill in November by 220-215. Of those 220, one was a Republican who now is a no. One Democrat who voted yes has died, two Democrats who voted yes have resigned, and one Democrat who voted no has resigned as well. So if everyone but the Republican votes the way they did four months ago, the score would be 216-215.
But not everyone is ready to vote that way. The House bill included an amendment prohibiting funding of abortions sponsored by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak. The Senate bill did not. Mr. Stupak says he and 10 to 12 other members won't vote for the Senate bill for that reason. Others have said the same, including Minnesota's James Oberstar, chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Dan Lipinski, a product of the Chicago Democratic machine.
Mrs. Pelosi may have some votes in reserve—members who would have voted yes if she needed them in November and would do so again. But we can be pretty sure she doesn't have more than 10, or she wouldn't have allowed...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I’d say no if she wasn’t so damn sexy! /s
Can Al Qaeda recruit suicide bombers? Could the Japanese recruit kamikaze pilots?
See where you Congressman currently stands of the Obamacare vote:
http://www.hannity.com/pages/stop-obama-care
She could force "wayward" Dims to look at nude Pelosi images.
Barone doesn’t feel Pelosi can do it, so I feel much better now.
Did not this idiotic woman say, “We must pass the bill so you can read what is in it”! What a freaking dunce — and people think she is some kind of braniac? She is a freakin Maniac
Rush doesn’t think they have the votes either...I hope not.
Yeah, it's a good thing that Rush has never been wrong about the Democrats.
Of course they’ll get the votes. Pelosi’s got a bottomless checkbook to bribe them with.
Barone didn’t say it wasn’t possible. I think his analysis is the same as Limbaugh’s. If Pelosi had the votes, this would be over by now. She’s still working it. (Interesting that today’s press suggests division in Dem ranks over those “artificial deadlines” from Rahm Emmanuel. Poor little legislators slaving away on legislation they don’t bother to read...)
How Much Damage Could HC Inflict on Dems?
But if these results are typical of the nation as a whole, they're probably looking at over 100 members sitting in districts where the health care reform bill is upside-down.
The Democrats' Pickett's Charge Dick Morris
While Dick Morris' are usually discounted, I usually find Mike Barone right on the money.
She’s got the votes.
It’s just a matter of money and ambassadorships for those democrats that will fall on the sword.
Thanks for the link.
Correction: When President Obama takes his daughters on a spring break trip to visit his roots.
If Republicans played the way Democrats do the press would be declaring that a coup is in progress.
IMHO
Let alone making freight trains jump the tracks...
Wait a second. Didn’t Pelosi say today she already had the votes? I thought they could vote right after the party at Representative Massa’s place.
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