by Joe Garofolio
The San Francisco Chronicle
November 10, 2009
While the health care reform sausage is being cased in Congress, the warring political factions are passing the time by making lists. Specifically, “target lists” of legislators who dared vote the ahem, “wrong,” way. Retribution due date: The 2010 elections.
Welcome to Shakedown Season.
Fresh off the bill’s House passage, the DNC popped out their target list of “vulnerable” California Republicans who voted against it. On their list:
Reps. Dan Lungren (CA-3), Elton Gallegly (CA-24), Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (CA-25), David Dreier (CA-26), Ken Calvert (CA-44), Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), John Campbell (CA-48), and Brian P. Bilbray (CA-50).
Then there’s MoveOn.org’s threat to find primary challengers for Democratic senators who filabuster the bill in the Senate. They’ve given their threat a nice name: Health Care Accountability Pledge.
Says MoveOn:
“If a Democratic Senator helps block an up-or-down vote on health care reform, there need to be consequences. We’ve launched the Health Care Accountability Pledge so that a primary challenge against any Democrat who filibusters would get off to a well-funded start.”
“If a Democratic Senator helps block an up-or-down vote on health care reform, there need to be consequences. We’ve launched the Health Care Accountability Pledge so that a primary challenge against any Democrat who filibusters would get off to a well-funded start.”
And Republicans are focusing on at least one Central Valley House Dem who they say traded his vote for the health care plan in exchange for some pork. They’re ticked that Rep. Jim Costa said that “During my negotiations to help improve the bill for our Valley, I was able to achieve funding for a medical school in the Valley, with studies at UC Merced and residency in Fresno as well as additional incentives to bring health professionals to our Valley.”
And then Markos “Daily Kos” Moulitsas has his own list: Dems who cast a “s—–” vote for health care. So he suggests not giving any money to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee because some of it will go to those Dems.
So who’s on your list?
