Adler stays a focus in the healthcare debate

by: Jason Springer

Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 12:00:00 PM EDT

Congressman Adler has been a continued focus for healthcare watchers over whether he would give his support to the legislation making its way through Congress. Meeting with the Courier Post, he said this:

"I would vote against the Senate bill," he said while meeting with the editors of the (Cherry Hill) Courier-Post. "The Senate bill has different fundamental flaws and some of the same fundamental flaws that the House bill had."
He left open the possibility of supporting the bill that would make fixes to the Senate bill if it includes more cost-containment measures.

I don't really know what cost containments they would add at this point to satisfy him and get his vote. But he may not get a chance to vote on the Senate bill depending on how things proceed:

Under the procedure, known as a "self-executing rule" or a "deem and pass," the House would adopt a rule for a vote on a package of fixes to the Senate health-care bill, with passage signifying that lawmakers "deem" the underlying bill to be passed.

And for the Republicans who bemoan the process, they used it 35 times while leading the Congress from 2005-2006. Depending on what path the bill takes for voting, members opposing legislation may be losing the support of the President in their re-election effort as reports say he will refuse to make fund-raising visits during November elections to any district whose representative has not backed the bill. Along with the support of the President, some are threatening to attempt to challenges in the primary:

Labor and progressive leaders are threatening House Democrats who oppose health care legislation with potentially destructive third party challenges in November.

The Republicans are going to attack him no matter what he does or how he votes. They'll attack him because he's a Democrat and tie him to what the leadership did to get the bill passed that he may ultimately vote against. While some reports have him as a solid no, he's still leaving the door open to something according to his comments, so you should call and let him know what you think. Yesterday Adler could look out his window and see those opposing the bill while today he can see the Citizen Action rally in favor of it. If you want to call and let him know your opinion, numbers are: