Under the Paperweight, January 17-23, 2010 1

Does Congressman Adam Schiff support the Senate’s health care reform bill in light of Massachusetts election results and polls reflecting voter dissatisfaction? Links under the Sunroom Desk paperweight last week offered no clues.

The print version of Thursday’s Glendale News Press ran a large photo of Schiff alongside an article on the Massachusetts election and its implications for democrats and health care reform, Political Landscape: Leaders shaken up. Missing was a quote from Schiff; instead it contained comments from representatives David Dreier (R-26th District) and Brad Sherman (D-27th District).

The Thurday LA Times article Democrats reconsider healthcare possibilities ran with just one comment from a California representative – Senator Dianne Feinstein:

“People are very unsettled. They are very worried. There is anger. There is angst. . . . People do not understand [the healthcare bill]. It is so big, it’s beyond their comprehension.”

Thursday’s Daily News said Local Dems ponder fate after loss of Senate seat, but not one congressional representative pondered on the record. Local political consultants and organizers offered predictions, while Republican senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina said, “I think people are tired of incumbents,” and Senator Barbara Boxer’s campaign manager Rose Kapolczynski said, “We’re facing a challenging political climate.”

A swift turnaround in voter sentiment threatens many democratic incumbents, says Michael Barone in If Republicans run as strongly as Brown, only 103 House Dems are safe. Barone’s analysis lists 14 congressional districts in the Los Angeles area alone, including Schiff’s 29th District and Sherman’s 27th District, which “might be vulnerable in some circumstances to Republican capture.”

What are the political options for legislators? Tally Sheet: Where House Dems Stand On How To Move Health Care Reform Forward, lists representatives who are committed to the Senate bill, in favor of amending it, willing to consider separate bills, opposed, or non-committal. Schiff appears in none of the above; and is therefore in the group “Everyone else” in category “Unknown”.

UPDATE: Why didn’t I just call Adam Schiff’s office myself? Read the next post.