‘Top Line’ — Can Pelosi Get the Votes?

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: Health care reform is all about the magic number 217 right now. That's the number of votes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs to secure to pass the Senate-approved bill and send something on to President Obama's desk at long last. Pelosi managed to wrangle 220 votes last year for health care reform — but that was on a different piece of legislation, and during a different political time. Between vacant seats and public pronouncements of changed minds, House Democratic leaders are almost certainly well short of 217 today. Can Pelosi get there? That was our Twitter question of the day today. Time’s Karen Tumulty — a frequent “Top Line” guest, and @ktumulty in the Twitterverse — offered a smart response: “Looking back over the past year, I wouldn't bet against Nancy Pelosi to get the votes that she needs.” We talked about it with Politico’s Jonathan Martin today on ABC’s “Top Line.” He’s not betting against the speaker, either: “She moved cap and trade. I mean, that is a Herculean task given a lot of these Democrats [are] from coal-fired states,” Martin said. “With the fate of their majority hanging in the ballots, do you want to lose 60 seats, guys? I mean, if that’s the message, then I think she gets the votes. It’s not just the folks that have retired — it’s the folks that are going to retire still. There are going to be more House Democrats that are not going to run for reelection. They know it privately, the speaker knows it privately. Look, what’s the downside in voting for this bill?” Former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., agreed: “I think if you’re a Democrat, you better have something to show for this.”