“I just don’t know where they get the votes in the House,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire, a Democrat who opposed the House bill but now says he’d consider supporting the final package. “It’s a huge challenge because … the people who voted yes would love a second bite at the apple to vote no this time because they went home and had an unpleasant experience as a result of their ‘yes’ vote. I don’t know if there is anybody who voted no that regrets it.”…
Of the 39 Democrats who voted no, 12 are freshmen who might wilt under the full weight of the White House if Obama leans on them in the run-up to a climactic vote. And three — Tennessee Rep. Bart Gordon, Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson and Missouri Rep. Ike Skelton — are chairmen, giving the speaker leverage to oust them from those posts if they don’t vote with her on final passage…
“Speaker Pelosi has made it clear that she is willing to sacrifice a few dozen of her members in order to achieve her objective. The question is which of them will draw the short straw and cast a career-ending vote for her sake,” NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said.
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