But his concerns don't have to do with health care itself. No, a letter he wrote that was signed by 21 other Democratic congressmen, is concerned with the fate of the wealthy, according to today's New York Times report:
A group of Democrats elected in recent years from some of the country's richest congressional districts have emerged as a stumbling block to raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for President Barack Obama's ambitious health-care overhaul just as the plan has begun to meet increasing resistance over its cost.Friday, two freshmen representatives -- Dina Titus, from suburban Las Vegas, and Colorado's Jared Polis, representing Boulder, Vail and some of the tonier suburbs of Denver -- joined Republicans to vote against Mr. Obama's top-priority health-care overhaul when it faced a vote in their House Education and Labor Committee.
One reason was a one-percentage point-surtax on couples earning between $350,000 and $500,000 -- gradually increasing to 5.4 percentage points on earnings more than $1 million -- to pay for it. The bill passed the committee anyway, but if the number of Democratic defectors grows it could pose a serious obstacle to the president
The article goes on to quote from Polis's letter, which reads: "Especially in a recession, we need to make sure not to kill the goose that will lay the golden eggs of our recovery."