Democrats against health bill tended to be rural; rural Democrats who voted for it were pivotal

There was a rural flavor among the Democrats who voted against the health-care reform bill that narrowly passed the House last night. Of the 39 Democrats who opposed it, 24 are "members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition," The New York Times reports. "An overwhelming majority of the Democratic lawmakers who opposed the bill — 31 of the 39 — represent districts that were won by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the 2008 presidential election, and a third of them were freshmen. Nearly all of the fourteen freshmen Democrats who voted 'no' represent districts that were previously Republican and are considered vulnerable in 2010. Geographically, 22 lawmakers from Southern states formed the largest opposition bloc."

Some examples included Reps. Ben Chandler of Central Kentucky and Rick Boucher (left) of Southwest Virginia, who may have felt that their votes for the bill, on top of their earlier votes for the cap-and-trade bill on climate change, would be too much baggage to take into next year's election, though Chandler won by 29 percentage points last time and Boucher was unopposed. Cap-and-trade supporter Baron Hill of Southern Indiana, in a more contested district, voted for the bill, as did highly vulnerable freshman Democrat Tom Perriello of south-central Virginia, and "Democratic officials said ... Obama’s conversation Saturday with Rep. Michael H. Michaud, D-Maine, was crucial in winning one final vote," the Times' Carl Hulse and Robert Pear report.

UPDATE, Nov. 9: The Daily Yonder reports, "85 percent of the House Democrats who voted against ... came from Congressional districts more rural than the nation as a whole." Hill, "who was part of a conservative Democratic blockade to the legislation in July," was one of the last to decide to vote for the bill, Paul Kane and Perry Bacon Jr. of The Washington Post reveal. "Hill led the effort in July to craft a more moderate public option and demanded that the vote be put off until after the summer recess. It originally appeared to be a disastrous decision, as he and dozens of other Democrats were confronted by angry protesters at town halls protesting the 'government takeover' of health care, making "public option" a household phrase. But he said the pause allowed lawmakers the chance to let their constituents voice their opinions, so that they could not be accused of rushing to a vote." Perriello, "the son of a country doctor," voted for a bill "that is not considered popular" in his district abut "was swayed by changes to the bill including provisions for bigger payments to rural doctors," the Post reports.

For a Times table of Democrats who voted against the health-reform bill, ranked by their margin of victory in last year's election, click here. For a table from the Post of all the votes, coupled with lists of the percentage of uninsured in each district and the member' campaign contributions from the health-care industry, click here. Here's a Times map of the votes by district, with Democrats in blue. Lighter shading indicates a "no" vote. To make the map interactive, click on it.