With No Bush Veto Threat, Six Republicans Switch From 'No' to 'Yes' on SCHIP
By Elana Schor - January 14, 2009, 3:42PM
The House just passed a $33 billion reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, a.k.a. SCHIP, the legislation that Democrats tried in vain to expand last year only to meet with two vetoes from George Bush.
But now that Bush is gone, and there's no more president to protect, it seems that a few Republicans feel they're ready to support children's health care. Comparing today's House vote count to the roll-call vote in 2007, when Democrats came within about 13 votes of overriding Bush's veto. (There was another override vote that year, and a second in 2008, with similar near-miss outcomes.)
GOP Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL), Mike Rogers (AL), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL), and Thaddeus McCotter (MI) -- a member of Republican leadership who got picketed over his previous votes on SCHIP -- all voted yes today after voting against expanding the health care program under Bush.
What happened, guys? Was it Obama's post-partisan outreach that did it for you?
Maybe someone reminded them that children were once fetuses.
Even better, this was passed without Michelle Malkin snooping through anyone’s trash cans.
