Vote nears amid protests
Democrats’ health reform bill endorsed by AARP, AMA
WASHINGTON – With the historic House vote on health care barely 48 hours away, battle lines hardened and rhetoric sharpened Thursday when thousands of conservatives and anti-government protesters swarmed Capitol Hill to oppose Democrats’ $1 trillion overhaul even as two powerful lobby groups for doctors and seniors endorsed the legislation.
“Kill the bill! Kill the bill!” chanted thousands of protesters outside the Capitol, some having traveled on short notice from as far as California and Texas to protest what they saw as tantamount to socialized medicine. “No Marx. No Mao,” one protest sign read. “No socialized anything,” read another.
Meanwhile, officials from AARP and the American Medical Association publicly endorsed the Democrats’ health care overhaul.
The endorsement by AARP was prized because the seniors lobby is an electoral powerhouse and it has been skeptical of the Democrats’ proposals to reduce spending on Medicare. The AMA’s support was a marked turnabout for a group that played a leading role in stymieing past efforts to change health care.
The public pressure from left and right provided a dramatic background for Democratic leaders’ last-minute efforts to nail down a solid majority for their overhaul plan, which is now scheduled to be laid before the House for debate Saturday.
The angry voices of opposition echoed the conservative protests that have been increasingly heard this year at anti-tax “Tea Party” rallies.
While the rally assembled in front of the Capitol to hear from House Republicans was peaceful, Capitol Police arrested 21 anti-abortion activists and others inside House and Senate office buildings for disorderly conduct and related charges.
Some Republicans have tried to keep their distance from the Tea Party movement because of some activists’ divisive rhetoric – such as protest signs seen Thursday linking President Barack Obama and the health care bill to Nazi Germany.
Nonetheless, dozens of House Republicans, including their top party leaders, embraced the cause by appearing on the steps of the Capitol to address the crowd and denounce Obama and the health care bill.
“We are committed to making sure that not one Republican will vote for this bill,” House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., promised the crowd.
Democrats secured one new vote Thursday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi swore in Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., who won a special election Tuesday. Another special election winner, Democrat Bill Owens of New York, is to be sworn today.