Why Some Democrats Voted Against the House Health Bill

Brody Mullins reports on health care from Washington The nearly 40 Democrats who voted against the House’s health-care legislation Saturday comprised a mix of party moderates, Southerners and freshman facing tough re-election fights. They also included two Democrats who surprised party leaders by voting against the measure. An analysis of the vote shows that 22 of the 39 Democrats who crossed the aisle to join Republicans in opposing the bill were members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, including three of the group’s four leaders. These Democrats, who oppose big government deficits, had expressed concern before the vote that the legislation called for too much federal spending. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D., S.D.), a member of the Blue Dogs’ leadership, said in a statement before the vote that she was concerned about the “effect of the House bill on the nation’s long-term deficit, and more specifically, its failure to start bringing down the deficit and ... (link)