GOP frames election outcome as rebuff of Dems' health overhaul, but Pelosi paints a rosier picture

"Republican victories in two gubernatorial elections are casting a shadow on House Democratic efforts to secure support from wavering members for health-care legislation," Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal reports. "The GOP is framing the outcome as a rejection of Democratic proposals including the health-care bill, and some conservative and vulnerable Democrats seem inclined to agree, as they keep an eye on 2010 elections" (Vaughan, 11/4). 

But Reuters Front Row Washington Blog reports on how some Democrats are viewing yesterday's results. They "are looking beyond the state issues that dominated the governor's races and instead are focusing on two congressional races won by Democrats where national issues like healthcare reform were in play. 'From my perspective we won last night,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters when asked about Tuesday's elections. 'This was a victory for healthcare reform. From my standpoint we picked up votes last night — one in California and one in New York'" (Smith, 11/4).

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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.