 (Image: Neeta Lind under CC 3.0) |
Democratic Representative Eric Massa voted against the House’s initial healthcare reform bill, and would most likely oppose budget reconciliation to get it passed. That puts the New York politician in a minority, albeit a significant one, among his party. However, he stands alone in other ways.
There is no doubt that President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are pressuring representatives to act now, and attempting to convince those who opposed the legislation the first time to get on board. Massa, who represents a district in New York State, claims that the Obama administration (especially Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel) is forcing him to retire due to his “no” vote on reforming health insurance plans. Unlike most of those against it, he actually opposed it from the liberal side for being too limited to be effective.
His early resignation probably has more to do with the recent accusations of sexual harassment towards male staffers. According to Massa, those charges are a setup intended to clear the passage of the bill with one less vote. He plans to continue spreading the word in the media. Meanwhile, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs claims that he’s full of it. The saddest thing is that Massa’s admittedly hilarious stories–true or not–involving locker room confrontations with Emanuel will overshadow the plight of those without affordable health insurance.
