More Democrats come out against health care bill [Four from KY, IL, SD and NC]

As House Democratic leaders advised their members Friday to prepare for a legislative battle over health care that could stretch through next weekend, four additional rank-and-file Democrats have come out against the Obama administration's signature domestic priority.

Reps. Ben Chandler of Kentucky, Luiz Gutierrez of Illinois, Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota and Heath Shuler of North Carolina say they will vote against their party's health care plan, which may be headed to a final vote late next week.

"At this time, I am a 'no' vote on health care," said Gutierrez in a written statement. "It's no secret that I have been critical of proposals that would exclude our nation's hardworking immigrants from the health care exchange, and I would find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to vote for any measure that denies undocumented workers health care purchased with their own dollars."

According to an ongoing CNN survey, 21 House Democrats have now indicated they will vote against the Senate bill when it comes to the floor, though six of those members say they would consider voting for it if it were significantly modified. Opponents of the bill need a total of 38 Democrats to vote against the measure to ensure its defeat, assuming that all Republican members remain unified in their opposition.

Some members made clear that their votes are not negotiable. Josh Taylor, a spokesman for Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, told CNN the congressman "voted 'no' on health care the first time around and will vote 'no' the second."

Proponents of the health care plan need 216 votes in order to pass the Senate plan. As of Friday, no Republicans said they would vote in favor of the bill, which would mean Democratic leaders must rely solely on votes from its own members.(continued)

Folks,

Republicans can easily destroy the “health care reform” bill right now; if they will but repeatedly and emphatically declare:

IT WILL KILL OUR STRUGGLING ECONOMY.

If every prominent Republican who attends a presser or gives an interview emphasizes that one crystallized point; the political pressure and citizenry push-back against wavering Democrats in the House will be enormous and irresistible.

ECONOMY KILLER equals JOBS KILLER. And the case can easily and succinctly be made that this new, massively unfunded entitlement will require massive new taxes while hobbling the medical industry. That’s obviously an economy killer. As unpopular as this piece of crap bill is, it can immediately be made much more so with simple clarion emphasis regarding its destructiveness to the American economy.

The American people already hate what the bill stands for (the rotten substance of the bill) as well as they hate the corrupt process that has produced it. Now it needs to be branded into the national psyche that the bill will obviously cause long-term, personal financial harm for everyone. - If Republicans will simply apply massive pressure to this one point (using the new CBO numbers on the “reconciliation / fix it” bill as a new cause for alarm), that would end the ball game. There is no way Pelosi can secure wavering votes in the House if the Republicans concentrate primarily on driving home the message that this bill is toxic to our ailing economy.

“If the Health Care Takeover Bill becomes law, it will make our bad recession much worse.”

According to an email I just rec’d from NCTeaParty.com — Despite earlier assurances that he was a NO on health care reform and would not change his mind, Rep. Heath Shuler, NC 11, is now undecided.

Rep. Heath Shuler, North Carolina 11th
http://shuler.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-6401, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-6422
Local Office Number: (828) 252-1651, Local Fax Number: (828) 252-8734
Chief of Staff: Hayden Rogers email: hayden.rogers@mail.house.gov

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