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That means today is a day of agony for Democrats who are voting for this thing, given that its political suicide. They know what's coming, all they have to do is wait for it to be over.
Interestingly, Stupak seems to think the 216 votes aren't there. Democratic leaders were meeting with him and 8 other pro-life colleagues late into the night, to try and work out a plan to win them over. It could be a bluff: last night, Pelosi was also quoted as saying that she wanted more than 216 Members on her side, so no member of her caucus would be the deciding vote. So Stupak's members could just be window dressing.
Whatever the case, Stupak also said that the Democratic leaders were close to working out a deal with him. It doesn't look good.
Obama's approval ratings are down: according to Rasmussen, 26 percent approve of his performance, while 42 percent don't. And while Democrats are fond of saying that polling on the bill is mixed, a vast plurality of the polls suggest that Obamacare is wildly unpopular.
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This bill requires 10 years of tax increases and 10 years of Medicare cuts just to pay for six years of supposed benefits, many of which don't even go into effect until 2014...That's not reform.The tension between Pelosi and her colleagues today on the House floor must be incredible. I only hope that its the kind of tension that leads to massive political reform.
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