Rep. Stephen Lynch, in MA-9, voted for the health care bill in November but announced today that he’s voting against the new compromise bill — supposedly from the LEFT.
That is, he says he won’t back the new bill because it’s weaker than the original House bill, doesn’t do enough to constrain insurance companies and doesn’t allow for a public option. In other words, we’re supposed to believe Lynch is to the left of Kucinich on this issue. This is wildly implausible. Lynch is a DINO, and his opposition to the bill is from the right. Who does he think he is fooling?
My larger question is: Is there any possibility of a labor-backed primary opponent for Lynch — from the actual left? MA-09 (South Boston) is not the bluest of MA districts, but my hunch is that labor is pretty strong there. It might be important for the larger project of keeping wavering “Yes” votes in line on this bill for some plausible primary opponent to at least begin to get talked about for Lynch.
The filing deadline in MA is not until 6/1…
Despite pressure from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats, Representative Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston said today that he will vote against President Obama’s health care overhaul when it comes to the House floor, contending that it doesn’t put enough pressure on insurance companies to reduce costs.
The move is a switch for Lynch, who voted in favor of the House health care bill in November. But he said the current version, which was approved by the Senate, is not as strong as that measure.
— http://blogcabin.boston.com/mt…
Lynch goes on to criticize the raw deal Massachusetts gets financially from the bill because it’s already so far ahead of other states in covering the uninsured, but the main line of his critique is that this bill is weaker than the House bill (not surprising, since he has to justify his vote switch).
This is not the first time a conservative Democrat has characterized skepticism about HCR as being from the left when it is actually from the right. (Isn’t that the trick Massa tried to pull before his spectacular recent flameout?)