Democratic leaders were gearing up for a pair of committee hearings next week that will start the clock on a final, down-to-the-wire vote, which will require House Democrats to swallow their significant distaste for the Senate bill and to vote on faith that Senate leaders can muster the support to change it.“We will have at least one week to have our own conversations,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Thursday after a briefing by top White House officials to her caucus. “It may take longer. … But it is not something that we’re going to draw out. The decisions are made. The choice has to be made.”
That last remark was a clear challenge to her wavering colleagues that the time has come to make up their minds. But as far as Democrats have come in the health care fight, some days it feels like they’re right where they started — liberals pining for the public option, Blue Dogs concerned about cost and abortion still the problem that won’t go away…
“I don’t like the Senate bill,” said Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley, who voted for the House bill — a point she quickly reiterated to a White House aide sitting nearby…
“What happens if Sen. Reid throws up his hands and says, ‘I don’t have the votes’?” Berkley asked.
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