Last week, President Bush pledged to veto a bipartisan Senate bill that would cover three to four million more kids with health insurance.
Does that mean children will be left out in the cold until Bush is out of office? Not necessarily.
This week’s Congressional Quarterly (sub. req’d) reports that many Republican officeholders are quite fearful at the prospect of facing the voters after denying kids health care.
“You can’t construct a question on children and health without getting an overwhelming majority in favor of giving health insurance to children,” said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who added that voting against an SCHIP expansion is “politically stupid” and could make politicians who do so appear shortsighted or stingy.
