Posted on 03/11/2010 12:43:55 PM PST by Uncledave
WASHINGTON – House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama's health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.
A break on abortion would remove a major obstacle for Democratic leaders in the final throes of a yearlong effort to change health care in the United States. But it sets up a risky strategy of trying to round up enough Democrats to overcome, not appease, a small but possibly decisive group of Democratic lawmakers in the House.
Democratic leaders are working to rally rank-and-file members around last-minute agreements on several sticking points, health insurance taxes and prescription drug coverage among them, and dozens of other complicated issues — all as Republicans stand ready to oppose the overhaul en masse.
"We will finish the job," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote in a letter to his Republican counterpart describing the path ahead.
Said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa: "The stars are aligning for victory on comprehensive health reform. The end is in sight."
Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said the leadership will press ahead without reworking the abortion provision, which opponents say falls short in restricting taxpayer dollars for abortion coverage. He predicted some of the anti-abortion lawmakers in the party will end up voting for the overhaul anyway.
One point on which Obama may not get his way is the White House demand for a vote by March 18, a week away. Speaking to reporters after Democrats met for a status report on the emerging health care agreements, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the deadline merely "an interesting date."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
PLEASE CALL! DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE State District
Code Red” - House Target List on Health Care
The National Republican Congressional Committee has published a target list on health care. In addition to continuing to contact the five Tennessee Democrat Congressmen, you can go http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/94697.aspx to contact some of these targets. Much of the talk following Obama’s announcement has focused on how to defeat this second bill through reconciliation, but that is misleading because the first step to defeating Obamacare is not by concentrating on defeating the “fixer” bill but by defeating the Senate bill in the House when it goes to the floor for an up-or-down vote on Thursday, March 18th.
Rep. Lincoln Davis 202-225-6831 Columbia office: 931-490-8699
Rep. Jim Cooper 202-225-4311 Nashville office: 615-736-5295
Rep. Bart Gordon 202-225-4231 Murfreesboro office: 615-896-1986
John Tanner (202) 225-4714, Union City, (731) 885-7070, Jackson Phone: (731) 423-4848, Millington (901) 873-5690 TN (MAYBE)
Rep. Steve Cohen 202-225-3265 Memphis office: 901-544-4131
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411 AZ 5th District
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588 AZ 8th District
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914 AZ 1st District
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643 CA 11th District
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107 CO 3rd District
Jim Himes (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028 CT 4th District
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757 FL 8th District
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1114 IL 14th District
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999 IN 9th District
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075 MI 7th District
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227 MI 9th District
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462) NV 3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813 NH 1st District
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500 NY 1st District
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371 NY 19th District
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150 NY 23rd District
Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146 NY 24th District
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657 NY 25th District
Earl Pomeroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355 ND At-Large District
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723 OH 1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196 OH 15th District
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300 OH 18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038 PA 3rd District
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963 PA 8th District
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988 PA 10th District
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200 PA 11th District
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114 SC 5th District
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291 VA 5th District
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422 WVA 1st District
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000 WVA 3rd District
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954 WI 8th District
Bart Stupak (202) 225 4735 MI (MAYBE)
Brian Baird (202) 225-3536, Vancouver, (360) 695-6292. Olympia, (360) 352-9768, (MAYBE)
senator mark begich (202) 224-3004 toll free. (877) 501 - 6275 just became a MAYBE
Jason Altmire 202-225-2565, Aliquippa, 724-378-0928,
Natrona Heights, 724-226-1304 (MAYBE)
On the Bubble (Major developments from the “yes” and “no” columns in the House)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2467046/posts
I agree. Perhaps the work is now starting on pro-choice Republicans. No telling where the payoffs will be located, because it can’t be here. This can’t be the only thing they’re working on, so who knows?
attention Catholic Bishops.....Check.....your move.....
I have been impressed that the GOP has remained unified and held the line on this.
Still, in the end I believe they will find a way to get this through. The Demorcrats have been relentless on this issue, and they will buy off whoever it takes.
Hate to be a pessimist, but I don’t see them giving up on this before November.
Their attitude is hey, fund abortions or not fund abortions, who cares?
They really want to fund them anyway.
They are real scum thugs.
I pray to God they are thrown out of there in large numbers.
Are they going after the Dems who voted “no” because they wanted full nationalization of medicine? The reconciliation bill could be very, very ugly for freedom.
In other words, "I don't have the votes".
I sewar heard Pelosi this morning she sounds like a drug addicted or drunk robot brainwashed extremist.
I guess delete the words “sounds like”
“One point on which Obama may not get his way...”
Don’t you just love how the article assumes the marxist hell is a desireable, foregone conclusion?
unless they have simply concluded that this thing can’t pass, and they are setting the table to blame “right-wing reactionary anti-choice Christians” when they break the news to their base
Forcing everyone in the nation to be complicit in the murder of the unborn is a key goal of this policy.
A law no one has voted on or seen.
Welcome to Havana on the Potomac.
Fine with me!
Gibbs as already blown off the March 18 deadline today.
Pelosi, IMO, is wiping her rear end using our Constitution.
she didn’t sound very sure of herself!
Soon, as an expediency, 0bamao will be ruling by dictatorial decree.
even sources on the left are admitting that there are between 10 and 20 Democrats who are looking for an off-ramp that will make this thing go away, and likely a hang-up on abortion language is just the reason they are looking for.
Will be interesting to see what the Catholic Bishops will do now, as they had apparently reached a deal with Obama to back the bill in exchange for a reconciliation fix on abortion. Highly naieve of them, but now that it appears the plug is being pulled it will be interesting to see what they have to say.
The new strategy (in my opinion) is this:
There are a few special elections coming up. The democrats try very hard to win them, most are in strong democrat districts so republicans have hard work to do.
If the dems win those seats, it gives them more votes.
Then, the dems use those victories to sway wavering democrats by claiming “the momentum has shifted”.
They also try to bribe a few liberals who voted NO because Obamacare isn’t socialist enough. I don’t know how many no votes were there, but Dennis Kucinich was one of those. (Odd that we are counting on Dennis Kucinich to defeat health care reform).
Meanwhile, the democrats drop talk about the bill, and move on to a few popular but meaningless bills, and hope for a good jobs report that they can claim credit for next month. This would pull up their negatives, and again give them leverage against wavering no votes.
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