Hot Air 

November 06, 2009

ED MORRISSEY

The answer to the big question surrounding Nancy Pelosi’s scheduling of the ObamaCare vote this weekend has been answered. She didn’t schedule it for Saturday because she had the votes — and now Steny Hoyer has admitted as much this morning:

A House leader says Democrats haven’t yet lined up enough votes to pass their health care overhaul bill.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland says the vote that House Democrats had scheduled for Saturday could slip to Sunday or early next week.

Hoyer acknowledged to reporters Friday that Democratic leaders don’t yet have the 218 votes needed to pass [Alleged] President Barack Obama’s historic health overhaul initiative.

In other words, this was a Hail Nancy play. She couldn’t afford to wait too long for the vote after dropping 2,000 pages on members last week, and having them see the results of the elections this week. Pelosi and Hoyer thought that rushing a vote would allow them to bully recalcitrant moderates into support.