The New Media Journal | Defectors Among the House Democrats: "While Democratic leaders say they are confident they will have the 218 votes needed to pass major health care legislation this weekend, a number of House Democrats, including several from Republican-leaning districts in the South, have announced that they will oppose the measure, which is President Obama’s top domestic priority.
The Democrats currently control 257 voters in the House, and one more Democrat, Bill Owens, newly elected from New York, will be sworn in on Friday. With all 177 Republicans likely to oppose the health care bill, Democrats at most can afford to lose 40 of their own caucus members.
They will definitely lose a bunch. Among them is Representative Ike Skelton of Missouri, chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
“I oppose the creation of a government-run public insurance program and continue to have serious concerns about its unintended consequence for Missourians who have private insurance plans they like,” he said in a statement issued this week.
Mr. Skelton also expressed concerns that the bill would allow tax dollars to pay for abortions, a worry that led 40 Democrats to send a letter to House leaders urging them to tighten provisions to prevent federal money from paying to terminate pregnancies.
Representative Artur Davis of Alabama, who is running for governor there, said he preferred the Senate Finance Committee health bill and would vote against the House version...
Representative Travis Childers of Mississippi said that he would oppose the House health care bill because it was simply too expensive at a time of economic crisis for the nation."
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