Congressman Harry Mitchell may want to think twice before giving the Obama healthcare bill the thumbs up because a new poll suggests that, if he does, voters in his district will give him the heave-ho come November.
Harry shouldn't start packin' his bags just yet -- the poll was funded by the conservative group Americans for Limited Government, so the results may be skewed.
The poll, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, finds that if Mitchell votes yes on Obama's bill, 60 percent of the voters in his district probably will not vote for him in the next election.
"These results are hardly surprising," says ALG President Bill Wilson.
No shit, Bill. You funded the poll, which asks the direct question: "If your Congressman, Democrat Harry Mitchell, votes in favor of the Obama health care proposal how likely are you to vote for him in the next election?"
We're not sure why the word "Democrat" was necessary in that "scientific" question, but if you take a look at the history of the political leanings of Mitchell's district, you can figure it out.
"Congressman Mitchell is in big trouble. If this bill now is enacted by a razor-thin margin with Congressman Mitchell's help, his constituents are warning him as to what the predictable political consequences will be," Wilson continues.
We called Mitchell's office to see if he can control the trembling in his boots, but the line was busy all afternoon, possibly because Rush Limbaugh gave out the main Capitol switchboard number on his radio show this afternoon, which inundated the chamber's phone system.
Rush dished out the number to get healthcare opponents to call the capital and urge lawmakers not to support Obama's bill. As a result, anyone who calls members of Congress now can only air their grievance to a busy signal.
We caught wind of the Congressional phone fiasco from our friend Dan Newhauser at Roll Call. Get the scoop on Rush's move here.
