With mid-term elections fast approaching, Pelosi appeals to loyalties as coffers fill up

With the 2010 midterm election season fast approaching, Democrats are using the health care reform debate to instill unity in their caucus — especially with freshmen lawmakers.

Roll Call reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is using her leverage as a party leader to rally health reform support from House freshmen. After a meeting last week, Pelosi "turned the conversation to a politically vulnerable Democratic freshman. She noted that the lawmaker had recently received a big legislative assist from leaders but declined to show up for a press conference promoting their health care reform push."

"Some people in in the room said Pelosi's implication was clear: Marginal Democrats need to be team players in the party's make-or-break drive to restructure the health care system — or stop expecting the legislative favors that they covet to establish track records for re-election" (Dennis and Newmyer, 10/20).

In the meantime, Democrats are putting a lot of money into their 2010 races, even as many of them don't yet have GOP challengers, The Hill reports (Wilson, 10/20).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.