Senators could be haunted in ’12 by votes on Planned Parenthood, healthcare
The healthcare vote was a tough one for centrist Democrats facing reelection next year, including Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Tester (Mont.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.), who all voted against blocking the funds. Senate Republican strategists said the vote would be a major issue in the 2012 campaign.- The Hill
By Alexander Bolton at The Hill
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The Senate rejected resolutions that would bar federal funds from implementing the new healthcare law, and to block funding for Planned Parenthood.
House Republicans are happy to have put the vulnerable Senate Democrats on the spot, but they might also have caused headaches for some Senate Republicans.
GOP Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.), Susan Collins (Maine), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Olympia Snowe (Maine) all voted against the resolution blocking federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Brown and Snowe are up for reelection next year and could face conservative challengers in the GOP primary.
GOP strategists insisted Democrats would be hurt next year because of the healthcare vote.
“They just voted for one of the least popular things that was talked about over the course of the last election cycle,” said a senior Senate GOP aide. “They reaffirmed their support for something that raises healthcare costs, raises premiums and raises taxes. I’m blown away that they’ve rejected their constituents’ fury.”
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