20 House Democrats oppose Barack Obama’s healthcare plan

  I wrote yesterday about Barack Obama’s healthcare plan and how there were parts of it that would alienate members of both parties. While the senate will probably be able to gain the 51 votes needed to pass the bill through reconciliation I thought that there might be enough opposition in the House to kill this bill.

  It now appears as if this might be the case. The Stupak amendment– which barred the use of federal funding from abortion– has been removed from the bill and this could be a major sticking point moving forward in the House. In the original House version of the bill, Bart Stupak was able to lead a 40 member Blue Dog coalition in opposition to the bill until abortion language was added that would prohibit the federal funding of abortion. But that language has been removed and Bart Stupak is claiming that he has at least 15-20 Democrats prepared to vote against the bill, with still more of the original 40 member coalition yet to be contacted.

  The original bill only passed by a 220-215 margin so this news could stop the president’s version of the healthcare bill dead in its tracks. And Stupak claims that these Democrats have more issues with the bill than just the abortion language– inlcuding the plan to tax “Cadillac” healthcare plans.

  House Minority Whip Eric Cantor believes that the bill is 14 votes shy of passage in the House, which means that Stupak’s coalition holds the key to this bill’s passage. With everyone focusing their attention on the Senate and the prospect of the Democrats using reconciliation to pass the bill with a simple majority, the atmosphere in the House is being ignored. Yet it is in the House where the biggest battle still lies. Once again, the key lies with the Blue Dog Democrats. Will they hold firm? Or will they let us down?

  Even the threat of reconciliation may not be enough to pass this bill but we can take no chances. We must call, write, and email our representatives and demand that they vote against this bill. The fight is not over, it is just beginning and we must continue to be heard.