The Senate overwhelmingly passed the S-CHIP reauthorization and expansion today, 66-32. All of the nays were Republicans. Here's a roll call of the GOP crumb-bums up for re-election in 2010:
Never will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Fortunately, though, quite a few of these troglodytes are vulnerable or are weighing retirement: Bunning, Burr, Grassley, Gregg & Vitter. I look forward to seeing them all get bashed over the head with their callous cruelty toward children. They deserve it.
As you may know, the House just passed (once again) an expansion to S-CHIP which will, of course, be signed by incoming President Obama after two vetoes from George Bush. In 2007, SSP made a hobby of keeping a hairy eyeball on the twisted reptiles who voted against providing healthcare to children, sure that it would make a potent election issue (apart from the obvious wrongness of the vote). So now we're here to revisit our Crumb-Bum Roll Call.
First, a little update. Six members of Congress have taken themselves off the crumb-bum rolls, including one Democrat:
Diaz-Balart, Lincoln (FL-21)
Diaz-Balart, Mario (FL-25)
Frelinghuysen, Rodney (NJ-11)
McCotter, Thaddeus (MI-11)
Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (FL-18)
Taylor, Gene (MS-04)
Don't know what caused Taylor's change of heart (or Frelinghuysen's), but clearly the Diaz-Balarts & IRL are hoping to ward off tough challeneges in the future, as they had in 2008. Goes to show you that even a losing effort can have a real impact.
Thad McCotter, meanwhile, won by just six points in a totally unheralded race. Smart move on his part - but some of his similarly-situated colleagues (eg, Ken Calvert, Dan Lungren, Judy Biggert) still have their heads deep in the wingnut sand. Quelle surprise.
On the flipside, two Republicans decided to join their crumb-bum-alicious brethren and switch from "yes" to "no":
Latham, Tom (IA-04)
McMorris Rodgers, Cathy (WA-05)
I'd really love to see what their explanations are.
Anyhow, probably the most important detail here is that eleven GOPers who voted against S-CHIP in the 110th Congress are now looking for other work:
Chabot, Steve (OH-01)
Drake, Thelma (VA-02)
Feeney, Tom (FL-24)
Goode, Virgil (VA-05)
Hayes, Robin (NC-08)
Keller, Ric (FL-08)
Knollenberg, Joe (MI-09)
Kuhl, Randy (NY-29)
Musgrave, Marilyn (CO-04)
Sali, Bill (ID-01)
Walberg, Tim (MI-07)
Meanwhile, three Republicans couldn't save themselves even with S-CHIP "ayes":
English, Phil (PA-03)
Porter, Jon (NV-03)
Shays, Chris (CT-04)
Indeed, every freshman Democrat except for Bobby Bright (sheesh) voted for the bill. (The only other Dem holdout was Jim Marshall. Enough already.) A number of freshman Republicans voted yes as well:
Austria, Steve (OH-07)
Cao, Joseph (LA-02)
Lance, Leonard (NJ-07)
Lee, Chris (NY-26)
Paulsen, Erik (MN-03)
Thompson, Glenn (PA-05)
Cao we know about. Lance, Paulsen and to some extent Lee are in competitive districts. I'm not sure what explains Thompson's or Austria's votes, though.
In any event, the good news is two-fold: This expansion of S-CHIP will finally be signed into law, and plenty of GOPers are still fool enough to vote against extremely popular legislation that helped do in a number of their caucus-mates. I'm really liking 2009 so far.
In a recent exchange of emails, Thomas E. Fuller, Democratic candidate for Congress in Alabama's First District, assured progressives that "you will not be disappointed in my stand on the issues or my commitment to Democratic Principles." This was in response to a direct inquiry involving withdrawal from Iraq, support for S-CHIP, retroactive immunity for telecoms, and tax breaks for billionaires. It will be a pleasure to support a true Democrat as a change from incumbent Bush-bot, Jo Bonner.
Fuller is the chair of the Washington County Democratic Party and will need support from all Progressives to unseat the detestable Bonner.
I am so honored. I got a letter from Congressman Josiah Bonner, the Alabama First District's version of Bush-puppet. In it he explained to me that voting for or against S-CHIP isn't really a vote for or against children. No, it is, according to the patented convoluted Republican line "a part of an ongoing conversation on the expansion of government-controlled health care and the value of the free market".
A few weeks ago, we highlighted a long list of incumbents in marginal districts that voted against State Children's Health Insurance bill in the House. Today, I want to bring to attention all the Republican lawmakers who listened to their moral conscience and changed their votes to override the President's veto of the S-CHIP bill that will expand health care to millions of needy children:
District
Incumbent
Party
PVI
Oh, that's right. There WEREN'T ANY. In fact, the only vote changes on the Republican side of the aisle since last time were that Rep. Peter King (NY-03), who voted for the package originally, skipped town and failed to cast a vote against his beloved President today, and Babs Cubin (WY-AL), Wally Herger (CA-02), and Ted Poe (TX-02) actually found the time to show up and vote against children today. Bravo, folks.
So let's take the opportunity to tally up the following Republican'ts occupying districts with a PVI of R+6 or weaker who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with George Bush today and against children and families who deserve health coverage:
District
Incumbent
Party
PVI
NJ-03
Jim Saxton
R
D+3.3
MI-09
Joe Knollenberg
R
R+0.1
OH-01
Steve Chabot
R
R+0.5
IL-11
Jerry Weller
R
R+1.1
MI-11
Thaddeus McCotter
R
R+1.2
MI-08
Mike Rogers
R
R+1.9
WI-01
Paul Ryan
R
R+2.2
MI-07
Tim Walberg
R
R+2.5
MN-02
John Kline
R
R+2.7
IL-06
Pete Roskam
R
R+2.9
FL-08
Ric Keller
R
R+3.0
NC-08
Robin Hayes
R
R+3.0
FL-24
Tom Feeney
R
R+3.1
NY-26
Tom Reynolds
R
R+3.5
MI-04
Dave Camp
R
R+4.0
CA-26
Dave Dreier
R
R+4.1
FL-07
John Mica
R
R+4.1
FL-15
Dave Weldon
R
R+4.1
FL-09
Gus Bilirakis
R
R+4.3
AL-03
Mike Rogers
R
R+4.3
FL-18
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
R
R+4.3
NJ-05
Scott Garrett
R
R+4.4
FL-25
Mario Diaz-Balart
R
R+4.4
IL-16
Don Manzullo
R
R+4.5
CA-50
Brian Bilbray
R
R+4.6
IL-13
Judy Biggert
R
R+4.7
IL-14
Dennis Hastert
R
R+4.8
MO-06
Sam Graves
R
R+4.8
VA-04
Randy Forbes
R
R+4.9
FL-04
Ginny Brown-Waite
R
R+5.1
MN-06
Michele Bachmann
R
R+5.1
NY-29
Randy Kuhl
R
R+5.2
FL-12
Adam Putnam
R
R+5.3
NJ-11
Rodney Frelinghuysen
R
R+5.5
VA-05
Virgil Goode
R
R+5.6
NM-02
Steve Pearce
R
R+5.7
VA-02
Thelma Drake
R
R+5.9
AZ-03
John Shadegg
R
R+5.9
CA-44
Ken Calvert
R
R+6.0
CA-46
Dana Rohrabacher
R
R+6.0
Let these names be known now -- they are the fringe minority that's siding with an unpopular president against a bi-partisan bill championed by conservative Republican Senators like Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch. Shame on all of them--including the long list that this chart misses. Dishonorable mentions go to Democrats Jim Marshall and Gene Taylor, who both occupy steeply Republican districts, but who both need a spine transplant.
Last night, the House passed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, preserving coverage for 6.6 million children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but can not afford private insurance, and expanding the program to bring badly-needed health coverage to millions more children in low-income families. The roll call vote was 265 to 159, 25 votes short of a veto-proof margin. 45 Republicans broke ranks to support 220 Democrats on the legislation, while 151 Republicans and 8 Democrats cold-heartedly voted "no".
It always amazes me that Republicans are eager to put on their "fiscal conservative" hats when it comes to taking care of society's most vulnerable constituencies, but are so willing to rubberstamp billions upon billions for an endless war in Iraq with no questions asked. But when it comes to healthcare for kids? Oh no, we can't afford that kind of pro-life legislation. In the words of crumb-bum extraordinaire David Dreier (R-CA):
"It dramatically expands the welfare state," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif.
The following is a list of incumbents from districts with a PVI of R+6 or weaker, in order of the strongest Democratic seats to the most Republican seats in this bracket. Maybe the following Representatives forever be relegated to the crumb-bum hall of shame:
District
Incumbent
Party
PVI
FL-11
Kathy Castor
D
D+11.0
OH-10
Dennis Kucinich
D
D+8.3
NJ-03
Jim Saxton
R
D+3.3
MI-09
Joe Knollenberg
R
R+0.1
OH-01
Steve Chabot
R
R+0.5
IL-11
Jerry Weller
R
R+1.1
MI-11
Thaddeus McCotter
R
R+1.2
MI-08
Mike Rogers
R
R+1.9
WI-01
Paul Ryan
R
R+2.2
MI-07
Tim Walberg
R
R+2.5
NC-02
Bob Etheridge
D
R+2.7
MN-02
John Kline
R
R+2.7
NC-07
Mike McIntyre
D
R+2.8
IL-06
Pete Roskam
R
R+2.9
FL-08
Ric Keller
R
R+3.0
NC-08
Robin Hayes
R
R+3.0
FL-24
Tom Feeney
R
R+3.1
NY-26
Tom Reynolds
R
R+3.5
MI-04
Dave Camp
R
R+4.0
CA-26
Dave Dreier
R
R+4.1
FL-07
John Mica
R
R+4.1
FL-15
Dave Weldon
R
R+4.1
FL-09
Gus Bilirakis
R
R+4.3
AL-03
Mike Rogers
R
R+4.3
FL-18
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
R
R+4.3
NJ-05
Scott Garrett
R
R+4.4
FL-25
Mario Diaz-Balart
R
R+4.4
IL-16
Don Manzullo
R
R+4.5
CA-50
Brian Bilbray
R
R+4.6
IL-13
Judy Biggert
R
R+4.7
IL-14
Dennis Hastert
R
R+4.8
MO-06
Sam Graves
R
R+4.8
VA-04
Randy Forbes
R
R+4.9
OK-02
Dan Boren
D
R+4.9
FL-04
Ginny Brown-Waite
R
R+5.1
MN-06
Michele Bachmann
R
R+5.1
NY-29
Randy Kuhl
R
R+5.2
FL-12
Adam Putnam
R
R+5.3
NJ-11
Rodney Frelinghuysen
R
R+5.5
VA-05
Virgil Goode
R
R+5.6
NM-02
Steve Pearce
R
R+5.7
VA-02
Thelma Drake
R
R+5.9
AZ-03
John Shadegg
R
R+5.9
CA-44
Ken Calvert
R
R+6.0
CA-46
Dana Rohrbacher
R
R+6.0
Dishonorable mentions go to Democrats Baron Hill (IN-09), Jim Marshall (GA-08), and Gene Taylor (MS-04), who also voted against the bill, but represent redder districts than the ones listed in this chart. If the likes of Chet Edwards, Nick Lampson, and Jim Matheson, who represent some of the toughest districts in the nation for a Democrat to hold, can find ways to vote for this crucial legislation, surely you guys can rediscover your inner Democrat when healthcare for kids is at stake.
Challengers running against these Representatives would be well-advised to hammer their opponents hard on this bill. As Greg Sargent notes:
The poll finds that voters side with Dems on the issue by 60%-35%; that independents want the program expanded by a 34-point margin, 62%-28%; and that voters in Republican-held districts also overwhelmingly favor the expansion, 55%-39%.
One such candidate isn't wasting any time. Dennis Kucinich's primary challenger, Rosemary Palmer, hits him hard:
I was appalled by Congressman Kucinich's vote against the State Children's Health Insurance Program on the House floor tonight. This bill would have expanded an already successful program to provide health insurance to millions of children across the country. It takes some twisted logic for someone who claims to support health care coverage for all to oppose this necessary and overdue move in the right direction.
Using poor children as pawns is the nastiest sort of partisan politics. That Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), once a poor child himself, would stoop to this level by voting against the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) shows that his desire to become president has surpassed his ability to support progressive values.
This bill would have expanded an already successful program to provide health insurance to millions of children across the country. It takes some twisted logic for someone who claims to support health care coverage for all to oppose this necessary and overdue move in the right direction.
It wasn't perfect, Kucinich expounded, because it didn't include children who are legal aliens. He took the opportunity to promote his own universal health care bill, HR 676, which would cover both children and adults as a better choice - despite the fact that it is not going anywhere soon.
