Last night, the House passed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, preserving coverage for 6.6 million children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but can not afford private insurance, and expanding the program to bring badly-needed health coverage to millions more children in low-income families. The roll call vote was 265 to 159, 25 votes short of a veto-proof margin. 45 Republicans broke ranks to support 220 Democrats on the legislation, while 151 Republicans and 8 Democrats cold-heartedly voted “no”.
It always amazes me that Republicans are eager to put on their “fiscal conservative” hats when it comes to taking care of society’s most vulnerable constituencies, but are so willing to rubberstamp billions upon billions for an endless war in Iraq with no questions asked. But when it comes to healthcare for kids? Oh no, we can’t afford that kind of pro-life legislation. In the words of crumb-bum extraordinaire David Dreier (R-CA):
“It dramatically expands the welfare state,” said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif.
The following is a list of incumbents from districts with a PVI of R+6 or weaker, in order of the strongest Democratic seats to the most Republican seats in this bracket. Maybe the following Representatives forever be relegated to the crumb-bum hall of shame:
| District | Incumbent | Party | PVI |
|---|---|---|---|
| FL-11 | Kathy Castor | D | D+11.0 |
| OH-10 | Dennis Kucinich | D | D+8.3 |
| NJ-03 | Jim Saxton | R | D+3.3 |
| MI-09 | Joe Knollenberg | R | R+0.1 |
| OH-01 | Steve Chabot | R | R+0.5 |
| IL-11 | Jerry Weller | R | R+1.1 |
| MI-11 | Thaddeus McCotter | R | R+1.2 |
| MI-08 | Mike Rogers | R | R+1.9 |
| WI-01 | Paul Ryan | R | R+2.2 |
| MI-07 | Tim Walberg | R | R+2.5 |
| NC-02 | Bob Etheridge | D | R+2.7 |
| MN-02 | John Kline | R | R+2.7 |
| NC-07 | Mike McIntyre | D | R+2.8 |
| IL-06 | Pete Roskam | R | R+2.9 |
| FL-08 | Ric Keller | R | R+3.0 |
| NC-08 | Robin Hayes | R | R+3.0 |
| FL-24 | Tom Feeney | R | R+3.1 |
| NY-26 | Tom Reynolds | R | R+3.5 |
| MI-04 | Dave Camp | R | R+4.0 |
| CA-26 | Dave Dreier | R | R+4.1 |
| FL-07 | John Mica | R | R+4.1 |
| FL-15 | Dave Weldon | R | R+4.1 |
| FL-09 | Gus Bilirakis | R | R+4.3 |
| AL-03 | Mike Rogers | R | R+4.3 |
| FL-18 | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | R | R+4.3 |
| NJ-05 | Scott Garrett | R | R+4.4 |
| FL-25 | Mario Diaz-Balart | R | R+4.4 |
| IL-16 | Don Manzullo | R | R+4.5 |
| CA-50 | Brian Bilbray | R | R+4.6 |
| IL-13 | Judy Biggert | R | R+4.7 |
| IL-14 | Dennis Hastert | R | R+4.8 |
| MO-06 | Sam Graves | R | R+4.8 |
| VA-04 | Randy Forbes | R | R+4.9 |
| OK-02 | Dan Boren | D | R+4.9 |
| FL-04 | Ginny Brown-Waite | R | R+5.1 |
| MN-06 | Michele Bachmann | R | R+5.1 |
| NY-29 | Randy Kuhl | R | R+5.2 |
| FL-12 | Adam Putnam | R | R+5.3 |
| NJ-11 | Rodney Frelinghuysen | R | R+5.5 |
| VA-05 | Virgil Goode | R | R+5.6 |
| NM-02 | Steve Pearce | R | R+5.7 |
| VA-02 | Thelma Drake | R | R+5.9 |
| AZ-03 | John Shadegg | R | R+5.9 |
| CA-44 | Ken Calvert | R | R+6.0 |
| CA-46 | Dana Rohrbacher | R | R+6.0 |
Dishonorable mentions go to Democrats Baron Hill (IN-09), Jim Marshall (GA-08), and Gene Taylor (MS-04), who also voted against the bill, but represent redder districts than the ones listed in this chart. If the likes of Chet Edwards, Nick Lampson, and Jim Matheson, who represent some of the toughest districts in the nation for a Democrat to hold, can find ways to vote for this crucial legislation, surely you guys can rediscover your inner Democrat when healthcare for kids is at stake.
Challengers running against these Representatives would be well-advised to hammer their opponents hard on this bill. As Greg Sargent notes:
The poll finds that voters side with Dems on the issue by 60%-35%; that independents want the program expanded by a 34-point margin, 62%-28%; and that voters in Republican-held districts also overwhelmingly favor the expansion, 55%-39%.
One such candidate isn’t wasting any time. Dennis Kucinich’s primary challenger, Rosemary Palmer, hits him hard:
I was appalled by Congressman Kucinich’s vote against the State Children’s Health Insurance Program on the House floor tonight. This bill would have expanded an already successful program to provide health insurance to millions of children across the country. It takes some twisted logic for someone who claims to support health care coverage for all to oppose this necessary and overdue move in the right direction.
Amen.
I’ve had this image in my head for a while that I think sums up the Republican party: an elephant dressed as a druid holding a dagger with both hands above its head. In front of it is a lamb with the label “American People” on the altar of the “free” market.
Should we expect anything else from Joe Knollenberg?
MI-09 is R+0.1 and trending blue and former State Senator Gary Peters is the strongest candidate we’ve had in years.
Even with all this political pressure, and the overwhelming voice of the people, he continues to vote in lockstep with the Bush Administration! Unbelievable.
for adding color to the “D”‘s and “R”s. It is SO much easier to read, and see Democrats in Republican districts and vise versa.
Really Really hard. The ad should basicly be, congressman X voted to deny poor children the vital heath care they deserve. He also voted to spend half a trillion of your dollars in Iraq. Congressman X hates children and votes to continue a mindless war. He also eats puppies, by the litter. The end.
(I threw one of them in there so the others didn’t look so bad)
What was their reasoning for voting against it? I dont get why two such liberal house members wouldnt vote for this.
The negative votes by Etheridge and McIntyre can be attributed to the funding mechanism in the bill, which is a 61 cents per pack increase in the tobacco tax. What’s Kucinich’s excuse?