Jay Cost (H/T to BigGovernment.com): Factors in the search for House Democrats to approve the Senate healthcare bill.
How many such "options" does Nancy Pelosi have among these 38 nay voters? That's the big question, and it is impossible to pin down a precise answer. However, it's important to note that the Stupak amendment is precisely the kind of bill that the party leadership does not allow onto the floor - it passed, but with a majority of the majority voting against it. That Pelosi allowed this to happen suggests that she needed the Stupak voters, which in turn suggests that they are (or at least, were) more numerous than however many pocket votes she had.
Cost also mentions here (and elsewhere) that reconciliation will be about winning over liberal Democrats rather than moderates. Consider the tax on "Cadillac" plans, which is part of the Senate bill. House liberals sensitive to union interests are going to want that fixed in the reconciliation bill before they'll okay the Senate healthcare language.
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