Actual reporting taking place here...
I have done some checking on whether Representative Grijalva's claim in The Hill this morning that 46 members will vote against a bill without a public option represents the final count from the Progressive Caucus's whip count from three weeks ago.
It turns out that they never finished that whip count, and 46 was simply the number they were at when they dropped the effort. At the time they stopped, they were actually running above the 60 members who signed the letter opposing health care reform without a public option back in August. At least two other members had signed on.
The effort was dropped, however, in order to begin a new whip count of the entire Democratic Caucus on support for a public option with Medicare +5% rates (aka, the "robust" public option the Progressive Block had been demanding). This new whip count was begun at the request of Speaker Pelosi, who had challenged the Progressive Caucus to demonstrate sufficient support to pass such a public option.
The preliminary stage of that whip count has been completed, with a tentative number submitted to Speaker Pelosi. I do not know what that number is, but it probably is not 218. But even that whip count has not been presented in the formalized manner associated with whip operations, so it is still ongoing in some form.
More when I have it.
Update: Greg Sargent says the preliminary number is 170 members of the House in favor of a public option with Medicare +5%.
Update 2: I hear from a different source that Sargent's numbers are low. The whip count isn't at 218, but it is higher than 170.
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