Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

The partisan vote on the Obama-Pelosi healthcare bill was, to borrow an out of space analogy, one small step for health care, one giant step for universal health care coverage. Two of Connecticut’s U.S. House Reps. secure in their sinecures -- John Larson of the impregnable 1st District and Rosa DeLauro of the 3rd District, both Democratic bastions -- sensed as much as the vote drew to a close. DeLauro was especially ebullient, jumping up and down, flashing that world conquering smile of her’s, her noggin spinning with the heady perfume of victory. Larson, about to burst into song – Happy Days Are Hear Again – contended himself with “We are happy warriors!” President Barrack Obama and his Chicago gang – one of whom is shown above in a suggestive pose – watched the vote countdown from the Roosevelt Room in the White House. When the vote total hit 216, there were, according to propaganda chief Robert Gibbs, "cheers and clapping ... high five for Rahm, hugs all around." ...

“’They think I shouldn’t be expressing my views on this bill until they get a chance to try to sell me the language,’ Stupak told CNSNews.com in an interview on Tuesday. ‘Well, I don’t need anyone to sell me the language. I can read it. I’ve seen it. I’ve worked with it. I know what it says. I don’t need to have a conference with the White House. I have the legislation in front of me here.’” Apparently, no one from the Chicago Group surrounding President Barack Obama has yet made Stupack an offer he can’t refuse. His spine seems to be in good order: “We’re getting a lot of pressure not to say anything, to try to compromise this principle or belief. That’s just not us. We’re not going to do that. Members who voted for the Stupak language in the House – especially the Democrats, 64 Democrats that voted for it – feel very strongly about it. It’s been part of who we are, part of our make up. It’s the principle belief that we have. We are not just going to abandon it in the name of heal...