Interesting. The stakes are high. A leaked whip list suggests fifty progressive (read liberal) members of the House are prepared to vote against the health care bill if it doesn't contain a "robust" public option. Moderates, or Blue Dogs, are worried about too robust a public option that will not play well in their districts and possibly undermine existing health care options. The plot thickens, as a new report from the Senate says no bi-partisan compromise coming this week.
A whip list, which is generally tightly guarded, is used by congressional leaders to keep track of the private pledges made by members before a vote. The list is kept private to encourage frank answers from members so that leadership can gather accurate intelligence.
The whip list was obtained by Joan McCarter, a DailyKos contributing editor. It names fifty members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) who have firmly pledged to oppose any bill that doesn't meet the group's standards. Without those fifty votes, Democrats would be unable to pass the reform effort without Republican support. (Once Judy Chu is sworn in, there will be 256 Democrats, and one "closet Democrat"; 218 are needed for passage, leaving Democrats 12 votes short.)
Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) is in charge of keeping the whip count for the CPC. Watson spokeswoman Dorinda White confirmed that the list is accurate but slightly out of date and that more members have since confirmed that they'll oppose the bill if it isn't firm enough.
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