This morning, Dennis Kucinich, (D-OH) am outspoken opponent to the current health care reform bill, switched his vote to a Yes. Even as he announced his conversion, he made no bones about his feelings on the matter, saying “I have doubts about the bill. … This is not the bill I wanted to support. However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, my wife Elizabeth and close friends, I’ve decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation.” Kucinich went on to explain that he changed his position because he realized that it was better to pass a bill that can be changed than to pass nothing at all. President Obama’s reaction was anticlimactic; he simply said that it was good that Kucinich did so.
Representative Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) had also been opposed to the bill, but his objection was that he didn’t want to vote for government-funded abortions. Earlier today, he said the abortion restrictions were sufficient to win his vote, though. He expressed that he felt the sanctity of life for the 31,000,000 Americans without health insurance was a pretty strong motivation to vote in favor of it.