That's because of his district, which is overwhelmingly Democratic. If he wants any chance of holding on to that seat, he has to be for health reform, not against it.
Meanwhile in Kansas, Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) was on the flip side of the equation. He is running for Senate in Kansas, and so the idea of supporting the current version of H.R. 3200 is not an option.
Moore's predicament is like that of Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) who is running for Governor in Alabama. He's already made clear he would be a 'no' vote right now.
I haven't seen any big change of direction in the last week for Democrats on health reform. Instead, it has been the White House and Democrats on the defensive.
Even those who are strongly in support of health reform, like Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) would only give 24 hours notice about a town hall on the issue, while other Democrats have decided against any town hall meetings at all.
What does that tell me? That tells me, Outside The Beltway, the voters aren't sold on Obama health reforms.
We'll see what happens in the weeks ahead. Democrats have some big decisions to make. They can go down in flames proudly, or they can seriously consider major concessions.
And I mean, "major" concessions. Not just giving up the public option, most likely.
I spent the last week Outside The Beltway, and it only confirmed to me that there is widespread opposition to efforts by Democrats on health care reform. How Democrats react could well determine whether they get anything done on the issue. Some of the stories I read in recent days ...
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