Blue Dog Democrats Use Health Care Overhaul as Campaign Punching Bag
Members of the so-called Blue Dog Coalition are railing against the health care bill, and other Democrat-sponsored spending packages, in a bid to highlight their independence from the Washington establishment. In a year when spending is a top voter concern and incumbency can translate to liability, Democrats in moderate-to-conservative districts are using their ads, websites and public appearances to condemn their party’s marquee legislative achievement in the closing weeks of the campaign.
“The majority of the American people are against it. I believe that our nation can’t afford it. And I didn’t vote for it,” Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., told Fox News in reference to the health care bill.
Taylor last week went further than any of his Democratic colleagues in speaking out against the law. He joined dozens of congressional Republicans in calling for a repeal of the package, the first Democrat to do so.
These lawmakers surely have seen the polls that show voters persistently skeptical about the health care law benefits. Though the policy won’t take any measurable effect until 2013, studies that show health care spending will not decline as a result of the overhaul have fueled criticism; supporters tout the bill’s impact in expanding coverage to millions, rather than its effect on cost.
Fox News
9//22/10
