Saturday, March 20, 2010

Zack Space (OH), who voted in favor of the bill last year, has now come out against it. Space offers a rebuke to those who think that a bill should be passed for the sake of passing a bill:
"Getting it done just to get it done is not something we should be doing. We should be doing it right," Space told the Gannett Washington Bureau in a phone interview late Saturday.

Space said he has been getting calls and letters from his constituents, most of whom do not like the bill.

"I'm doing what I think is right," Space said. "I have been under enormous amount of pressure this week in Washington. I have spoken to the president twice, once in the Oval Office. My own leadership has been working hard to get me to vote for this. But I don't represent them. I represent the people in the 18th Congressional District."
Blue Dog Jim Matheson (UT) has also come out against the bill.

By FDL's David Dayen's count, that gives the following:
That makes it 207 No votes and 204 Yes votes. Ten are still undecided, and ten are potentially part of the Stupak bloc.
If opponents can keep the Stupak crew/undecideds/some combination of the two, this bill could be in serious trouble.

Has Pelosi released these moderates to vote against the bill, secure that she has a majority? Are the moderates about to come out more against the bill, moving as a group to protect themselves from leadership's wrath?

UPDATE: TPM says that Space's switch did not "surprise" Pelosi, but "she didn't release him to vote no either, as sometimes happens late in the game when the leadership knows it has enough votes and can spare some to protect vulnerable incumbents."