WASHINGTON — The Republican upset in Massachusetts sent conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats yelping for a new direction on health care as party leaders scrambled to find a way forward.
“Full-speed ahead is off the table,” said one of the Blue Dogs, Rep. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota. “We are still very much in the exercise of drawing meaning from the public disquiet.”
“If there’s anybody in the building that doesn’t tell you they’re more worried about elections, you should absolutely slap them,” said Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri centrist.
Upstate Democratic Rep. Michael Arcuri, who yesterday drew a rematch from the Republican he beat narrowly in 2008, said, “I think we’re all going to be tested — including myself.”
“It’s a mess,” Said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens): “If we’re having a problem in a blue state like Massachusetts, we’re going to have problems all over the country.”