Democrats struggle to do the math on healthcare vote

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Republicans held a news conference this morning to kick off their opposition to today’s healthcare debate, but the real action was on the other side of the aisle as Democrats worked to build a majority for the bill.

Democrats have 258 seats in the House, but unlike Republicans, the Democratic caucus is a more raucous affair, divided on a host of issues. All 177 Republicans were expected to reject the bill, but Democratic leaders were sharpening their pencils to do the math.

Democrats can afford to let 40 congressional members walk on the bill and they will still have enough votes to carry the day.

But issues like abortion and immigration language threaten to enlarge that number of possible opponents. There are also about 50 lawmakers who represent conservative districts and who fear that the bill’s cost, more than $1 trillion in the next decade, will give conservative opponents a lever in next year’s elections.

It is never wise to underestimate the power of leadership in any legislature, especially Congress. Most lawmakers were braced for a long day.

-- Michael Muskal
twitter.com/LATimesmuskal