By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
As the clock ticks toward a historic House vote on health care reform, people on both sides of the debate are trying to pressure Reps. Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls, and Michael Arcuri, D-Utica.
Murphy voted against the House of Representatives' bill last November, deeming it too expensive, but has said he is open to voting yes this time if the final bill addresses cost-control issues.
Arcuri voted for the House bill, but has been sharply critical of the Senate bill passed in December. Because Democratic leaders want to avoid a filibuster _ a virtual certainty if the Senate re-votes _ House members are being asked to approve the Senate bill with a guarantee it will be modified.
As of Wednesday morning, the modifications were not in final form, and neither representative would say which way he will vote, without reading the particulars. Before reading the bill, however, Arcuri was leaning toward a nay vote and e-mailed The Daily Star, "I have not seen anything yet that would change my position from leaning no.''
Still, Arcuri, who met with Tea Party activists Tuesday, according to his staff, would not pre-judge the bill.
The New York Times on Wednesday tallied probable House votes, finding 193 representatives prepared to vote yes, 198 to vote no and 40 in the middle "" the ``Democrats to watch on the health care vote.''
Arcuri and Murphy were on the list, and they are being watched, courted and goaded.
Arcuri spokesman Mark Cornell asked reporters to contact him by cell phone Wednesday, as the Washington, D.C., office number was tied up with health care callers.
``Yesterday alone, just in our D.C. office, we received about 450 calls from constituents,'' he said. Others with an interest in the issue also called on a day when the phone rang about 1,000 times. Cornell said the callers were about evenly divided in their advice on how to vote.
Murphy spokesman Josh Schwerin said the situation is similar in the 20th District, as residents and others with an interest in the issue are on the airwaves and telephone.
GOP leaders have said no House Republicans will vote for the bill, and the National Republican Congressional Committee is trying to attract enough Democrats to kill it.
On Tuesday, the NRCC wrote to The Daily Star that ``With the majority of Americans opposing the Democrats' health-care takeover, a `Yes' vote could be the end of Murphy's political career.''
On Monday, Ken Spain, the NRCC's communications director wrote, ``Scott Murphy might be feeling pressure from union bosses and Democrat leaders, but that's nothing compared to the heat he'll take from voters if he rubber-stamps his party's reckless health-care takeover.''
In response, Citizen Action of New York, Health Care for America Now and MoveOn.org planned to rally late Wednesday at Murphy's Clifton Park office ``to call on the congressman to stand up for his constituents and vote for health-care reform.''
The GOP unleashed a barrage of robo calls in Arcuri's district, the 24th, a campaign that was promised in advance by NRCC spokesman Tory Mazzola.
Arcuri is being challenged by Republican Richard Hanna of Barneveld, who also is trying to convince the incumbent to help kill the bill.
``While I believe this country is in desperate need of health care reform, this is not the way forward,'' Hanna said. ``Mr. Arcuri should vote against it and say it now. He should stop playing political games.''
Pushing from the other side is 25-year-old Marcia Grippen of Binghamton, a member of Broome County Young Democrats.
Grippen was approached by Organizing For America, a group of Obama supporters who are trying to save the reform bill, and she agreed to volunteer.
``We have a phone bank, and we've been calling people in Arcuri's district because we know he's being flooded with negative calls,'' she said. ``We want to show him that's not how most people think.
``People are tired of insurance companies charging more all the time. In some states last year, people had `adjustments' of 30, 40, 60 percent in their insurance. It's ridiculous.''
Some of the people who oppose reforming the health industry know little about what's in the bill, and how the reform would give them more leverage with their insurers, she said.
``If the bill passes and they see how much better off they are," she said, "they're going to change their minds.''
