November 5th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged Congressman Vic Snyder to “read the tea leaves and abandon the Hard Left’s attempt to take over the nation’s entire health care system” and to vote against H.R. 3962 on Saturday
“Tuesday’s overwhelming election results leave Congressman Snyder in a tight spot,” said Wilson. “Does he want to be wiped out politically to help Barack Obama foist his unwanted agenda on the American people? Or will he abandon ship?”
According to Congressional Quarterly, Congressman Louise Slaughter, Chair of the House Rules committee said a House vote would occur on Saturday, November 7th, with floor debate beginning on Friday.
Wilson asked of Congressional leadership, “Why, if exit polls show voter anxiety over the state of the economy, jobs, excessive government spending and taxes, is Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid focused on taking over health care and expanding government?”
“Congress is out of step with the American people,” Wilson said.
According to ABC News, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid remain committed to holding votes on the “public option” before Christmas. On October 27th, Pelosi said, “I am absolutely confident that we are going to get health care done by the end of this year, and Nancy Pelosi is just as confident.”
Said Reid spokesman Jim Manley, “Our goals remain unchanged. We want to get health insurance reform done this year, and we have unprecedented momentum to achieve that.”
But, reports ABC, Congressional Democrats are increasingly unsure they can have the bill signed into law this year. A senior Democrat aide said “Getting this done by the by the end of the year is a no-go,” which was confirmed to ABC by two other key Congressional Democrats, indicating disagreement about how to proceed.
Already, on the Senate side, Majority Leader Harry Reid is indicating he may delay final votes on Democrats’ $2.1 trillion “public option” until 2010. But, Wilson argues, “That will make gathering the votes among vulnerable members all the more difficult as voter concerns increasingly shift to unemployment, the national debt, and the sinking dollar.”
“Pelosi and Reid still don’t have the votes,” Wilson explained. “Every time they put off the floor votes, they show their hand—and right now they are saying that they need more time to twist arms and make deals.”
House Democrats are still working to achieve a majority, according to the Wall Street Journal: “As of Wednesday, House leaders didn’t appear to have secured the 218 votes they need to pass the bill. They were moving to quickly swear in two Democrats elected Tuesday, which would give the party 258 seats in the House and allow leaders to lose as many as 40 Democratic votes without losing their majority. No Republicans are expected to vote for the bill. … House leaders spent Wednesday scrambling to secure votes from freshmen and lawmakers in swing districts.”
“Pelosi and Reid cannot protect Congressman Snyder from an overwhelming public wave of dissatisfaction with government, which never favors the incumbent party,” said Wilson. “The reason Pelosi doesn’t have the votes in the House is because members like Congressman Snyder represent very vulnerable seats.”
“ObamaCare could be the biggest casualty of public outrage with big government,” Wilson said. “And the only question is: does Congressman Snyder want to go down with the ship?”
According to Rasmussen Reports, 54 percent of voters oppose the “public option” proposed, which only 42 percent support.
“It’s time for Congressman Snyder to abandon ship if he wants to keep his job. The American people do not want more government; they are trying desperately to get government off their backs and out of their pockets,” Wilson concluded.
