Health vote puts Matheson in tight spot

[helderheid]

Politics » A 'no' vote could cost him in his party; a 'yes' vote could cost him his job.
By Matt Canham
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 03/19/2010 09:56:52 AM MDT

Washington » Republicans warn Rep. Jim Matheson that Utahns will revolt if he backs health reform, while Democrats urge their conservative colleague to put the good of the party ahead of his own political needs.

Now, he even faces a discredited but persistent accusation that he struck a dirty deal with the president.

As the clock ticks down, Matheson remains undecided on what could be the biggest vote of his five-term congressional career. He says he will base his decision solely on the policy details of a compromise bill released Thursday, but Utah insiders say Matheson's stand will have serious political ramifications that will last far past the climactic health-reform vote now slated for Sunday.

The core dilemma, explains University of Utah political scientist Matthew Burbank, is that Matheson is a "fairly well-established incumbent, but in a district that is leaning Republican."

The GOP almost universally opposes the Democrats' bill, considering it a massive expansion of government power. Matheson voted against the House version last year, lamenting the vote's partisan nature and using many of the same criticisms leveled by Utah's GOP lawmakers.

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http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_14703189?source=rv

[Ozymanithrax]

1. A no vote should cost hm his job, too. He wants to vote like a Republican...

we should kick him out of office.

I much prefer a snake that is open about it's snakeyness.

[helderheid]

2. Exactly. He does have a challenger this year within the party, Claudia Wright:

http://www.utcitizenscandidate.org/

I keep getting calls from the Matheson campaign asking me to become a delegate and to vote for him at the convention.

[helderheid]

3. MATHESON VOTING NO - PLEASE DONATE TO HIS PROGRESSIVE DEM CHALLENGER

http://www.utcitizenscandidate.org/