by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
A whopping five House Republicans voted for the CHIP expansion. Why is this insane? Let's do a quick review:
- The bill isn't going to become law this session; it would take almost 60 Republicans to override the President's veto.
- But it will certainly pass the House.
- Lots of Republicans are in danger of losing reelection.
- Voting against CHIP expansion is easy fodder for campaign ads.
You would think, then, that House leadership would decide to let some of its more vulnerable members off the hook to vote for this bill to give them something positive that they can use in their own campaigns. But no, apparently the GOP thinks it's a good idea to maintain principled opposition to wildly popular legislation.
—Signed, not Ezra Klein
