While sitting in traffic, trying to get to Obama’s rah-rah fest at George Mason University, I heard the audio from Rep. John Boccieri’s press conference, about as disingenuous a display as I’ve seen in politics.
In short, every wavering Democrat has now put themselves in a box. After weeks of insisting that this was a tough call, that they saw many competing advantages and drawbacks in the legislation, and that the arguments for support and opposition were almost equally compelling, they have to decide, and then downplay all the counter-evidence that they spent all that time weighing.
Boccieri began by mentioning his mother’s fight with breast cancer. Of course, the breast cancer of his mother apparently wasn’t enough to get him to vote for the House version last fall.
His entire presentation was anecdotes about those suffering without health care. To hear him tell it, this was the Jesus Shows Up at Your Door and Heals You Act of 2010. Of course, if the bill was that terrific, one can’t help but wonder why he’s been wavering and undecided for weeks and weeks.
Boccieri made no concession to any drawback in this bill – not the cost, not the mandates, not the abortion issue, not the Medicare cuts, not the potential interference in the doctor-patient relationship, not the certain hike in premiums, not the ridiculous maneuver in which the House avoids a vote on the actual legislation. Instead, Boccieri railed about the “lies and fear mongering” that surrounded the legislation.
A recent poll indicated that 62 percent of voters in Boccieri’s district would be less likely to support a lawmaker who votes for a bill that enables public funding of abortion, and 50 percent would be much less likely. I hope that percentage, and perhaps more, make Boccieri eat this vote in November.