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Pelosi Jeopardized Vulnerable Democrats With Healthcare Vote
Tweet Share on Facebook November 9, 2009 Comment (27)By Linda Killian, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
In all of the celebratory remarks by President Barack Obama and other Democrats about making history with this weekend's House vote in favor of healthcare reform nobody is really talking much about the fact that the Democrats did it by the skin of their teeth.
Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the measure which passed 220-215.
Shortly after the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership team gathered before reporters to take a victory lap. But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer couldn't help but let reality intrude on the celebration. "Much work remains," he said soberly.
Truer words were never spoken.
Linda Killian
Linda Killian is a Washington journalist and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She is currently working on a book called Swing about Independent/Centrist voters for St. Martin’s Press. Her previous book was The Freshmen: What Happened to the Republican Revolution?
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