In a stunning display of political cowardice, 39 House Democrats caved to Republican fearmongering and voted with the GOP in favor of a bill that sabotages the ACA.
The final vote was 261-157 with 39 Democrats voting in favor of the bill, and 3 Republicans voting against it. The 39 Democrats are admitting that they turned their backs on the ACA because they are worried about keeping their seats in 2014. They all face tough election fights and thought that they needed to be seen as proactive and fixing the problem.
It doesn’t seem to matter to these Democrats that this “problem” has been exaggerated by the Republican Party and their willing accomplices in the mainstream media. They needed a show vote, so they hopped on board with Republicans to vote for a piece of legislation that is nothing less than an act of sabotage.
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These 39 Democrats sold out America’s uninsured, and they don’t deserve the support of voters in their own party. In a pathetic excuse for a House of Representatives that refuses to do anything, these Democrats have taken things to a new low. Their logic for their decision to betray the uninsured makes absolutely no sense.
What is a big story this November will not be a big story next November. The 2014 election is still nearly a year away.
Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) tried to explain to his fellow Democrats that they were harming the ACA, “If anyone who wants to can buy one of these cars without an air bag, or cars without seat belts — and that’s what these plans are — then you will find that the new marketplaces don’t have enough people in them And when they don’t have enough people in them, the rates will rise.”
The 39 Democrats who joined with Republicans deserve to be primaried in 2014. It is one thing to break with your party in order to solve a problem, but that is not what these Democrats did. They selfishly put their own political careers ahead of tens of millions of Americans.
Here is a list of the 39 Democrats who stabbed the uninsured in the back:
Ron Barber D AZ-2
John Barrow D GA-12
Ami Bera D CA-7
Timothy H. Bishop D NY-1
Bruce Braley D IA-1
Julia Brownley D CA-26
Cheri Bustos D IL-17
Jim Costa D CA-16
Peter A. DeFazio D OR-4
Suzan K. DelBene D WA-1
Tammy Duckworth D IL-8
Bill Enyart D IL-12
Elizabeth Esty D CT-5
Bill Foster D IL-11
Pete Gallego D TX-23
John Garamendi D CA-3
Joe Garcia D FL-26
Ron Kind D WI-3
Ann McLane Kuster D NH-2
Dave Loebsack D IA-2
Dan Maffei D NY-24
Sean Patrick Maloney D NY-18
Jim Matheson D UT-4
Mike McIntyre D NC-7
Jerry McNerney D CA-9
Patrick Murphy D FL-18
Rick Nolan D MN-8
Bill Owens D NY-21
Gary Peters D MI-14
Scott Peters D CA-52
Collin C. Peterson D MN-7
Nick J. Rahall II D WV-3
Raul Ruiz D CA-36
Brad Schneider D IL-10
Kurt Schrader D OR-5
Carol Shea-Porter D NH-1
Kyrsten Sinema D AZ-9
Filemon Vela D TX-34
Tim Walz D MN-1
These 39 Democrats have not protected themselves by voting with the Republicans. The Obamacare attacks will still come against them next fall. The only thing that these 39 proved today is that they are willing to put their political survival ahead of the survival of millions of Americans who need access to affordable healthcare.
They didn’t save themselves from future Republican attacks, but they did prove to their fellow Democrats that they aren’t worthy of their support.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
