"Democrats are tiptoeing around Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) these days," according to The Hill. How Rockefeller will cast his upcoming Senate Finance Committee vote isn't a sure thing, but his Democratic colleagues are avoiding the topic and instead letting President Obama do the talking. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus maintains that Rockefeller will vote for the bill, but he hasn't talked directly with him about this decision. But "Obama has urged him to, both in person and on the phone, and now the West Virginian's colleagues seem to be giving him space to let the president's words sink in."
Republicans are using a different strategy to press their own unpredictable member to oppose the panel's health reform measure. "Republican senators are reaching out to Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) to get a sense of how she intends to vote. But rather than confront her in large groups and risk rattling the centrist lawmaker, they are seeking private, one-on-one meetings to make their case against the bill" (Bolton, 10/7).