Late yesterday when it became increasingly apparent that Speaker Pelosi did not have the requisite votes to ensure passage of her Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), many democrat house members indicated that they wanted to return home for the weekend but Nancy put her foot down!
Although acutely aware that the chances of a successful vote this weekend were, at best, poor, the Speaker told her troops that she wanted them available through the weekend on the outside chance that she could garner the additional votes needed at which time she would call as special session and hold the vote.
A friend of mine who works in D.C. called me and said that Nancy's real reason for keeping her house members in Washington over the weekend is that she did not want them returning to their districts and being "harassed" by their anti-health care constituents. Pelosi is using the weekend opportunity to cajole, intimidate, bribe or otherwise outright threaten her recalcitrant house members into swinging their support behind her bill.
Although she won't admit it, all the recent protests by the various "Tea Partys", Town Hall meetings and protest demontsrations in the Capitol have rattled Speaker Pelosi and she is afraid of any further erosion for this bill within her own party should they go home for the weekend and once again face their constituents ire.
Although the bill is still said to be set for a vote today, I really don't expect anything to materialize until sometime next week.
Keep in mind that even if Pelosi is able to garner sufficient votes for this bill and attain passage, Harry Reid and the Senate will still be required to pass it prior to sending it to the President for his signature.
Peter J. Mahon
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