August 3, 2009: As recess begins, the heat is on (Politico)

  • “You have to capitalize on the anxiety in the voter base,” a House GOP leadership aide said. “How are [Democrats] going to defend a health care bill that the American people hate? You just ram it down their throats and knock their teeth in.”
  • “We strongly believe that when the American people understand the proposals, they’ll see that it’s a lot better than doing nothing, which is the Republican Party’s stance,” said Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who met with vulnerable freshmen members Tuesday to go over their recess month plans.
  • “There will be a drumbeat across America, a positive drumbeat across America about what this means for the American people,” she said. “For them individually and their families, for our businesses to be more competitive, for our economy to be dynamic, for our budget to be more in balance by reducing the upward spiral of health care costs having an impact on our entitlements.”

HOME | ARCHIVE