Everybody want to know how Baird will vote.Rep. Brian Baird went on CNN’s “State of the Union” yesterday and told Democrats something they didn’t want to hear. Just because the Washington state Congressman isn’t running for reelection–and thus doesn’t have to worry about a potential backlash from voters– doesn’t mean he’ll vote for his party’s health care bill. He said he was still “troubled” by the expense of the bill, the complexities in it that nobody really understands and the incohesive “hodgepodge” of programs it would create–reasons that he voted against a similar bill last November.Hearing that, CNN host Candy Crowley asked the big question: “You would vote against it [the bill] if you come to the conclusion that you don’t like it, even if it meant health care went down?” Baird’s response, which has been generating buzz in the blogosphere was: “Yes.” But Baird also said enough to suggest that the Dems shouldn’t count Baird out either. Baird took party leaders to task in the fall for rejecting Republican input. But he now sounds thoroughly disillusioned with his colleagues across the aisle.”When you watch the president’s summit, time after time he said to the Republicans is there anything in this you would agree with, and they dodge the question…We don’t have a dance partner.” The reason, he asserted: Republicans “are so eager to have this as a political weapon in the fall.” Baird’s conclusion is that Democrats have “no choice” but to dance the bill through Congress on their own. (See the full transcript here and video excerpt here.)
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