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Today, The Hill  reports that Pelosi has promised her vulnerable Democrats “they will not vote on controversial bills in 2010 unless the Senate acts first.” Pelosi has of course made this pledge before, but quickly tossed it aside to make vulnerable Democrats vote on a $1.2 trillion government-run health care experiment when the Senate bill stalled. With that vote fresh in their minds, I’m sure this latest report is striking these members as less than comforting.  

Besides the health care vote, Pelosi has already made several of these members walk the plank repeatedly on a wide variety of “bruising” votes, including:

• The $787 billion stimulus bill that failed to help the economy. 
• Obama’s $3.6 trillion bloated budget. 
• An ear-marked filled FY 2009 omnibus.
• The Cap-and-trade bill that creates a national energy tax and will kill jobs.
• A trillion dollar government-run health care experiment.
• A fiscally irresponsible FY 2010 omnibus.
• A $290 billion debt ceiling vote today.

We think it’s nice that that in the spirit of the holiday season Pelosi says she won’t making her vulnerable Democrats walk the plan yet again on controversial issues.  Unfortunately for them, however, their respite looks to be short lived as 2010 will be more of the same with more tough votes on the horizon including:

• Employee Free Choice Act, which ends workers’ rights to a secret ballot.
• Another vote on the health care experiment.
• Another vote on the national energy tax.
• Another bloated budget from Obama.
• At least one more increase in the debt ceiling.
• Extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which if not passed will increase taxes for countless American families and small businesses.

No wonder four Democrats have already retired and more are expected to in the future.  Pelosi has walked them off the plank and they are tired of drowning.