Two hundred Tea Party Patriots carrying “Don’t Tread on Me” flags picketed outside Rep. Frank Kratovil’s Bel Air office to buck up the freshman Democrat’s resolve as party leaders and the White House dialed up the pressure. “We’re just against big government doing health care reform,” Tea Party organizer Tony Passaro told Capital News Service. “We’re afraid that if you leave that much money and that much power to the federal government, they’ll lose control of it.”
Kratovil, a Blue Dog Democrat who replaced nine-term Republican moderate Wayne Gilchrist after he was picked off in the primary by state Sen. Andy Harris, was hung in effigy by angry Tea Partiers in August. In November, Kratovil voted against the House version of health care reform.
A spokesman for Kratovil told protestors that the congressman will also vote no on the Senate bill, but hedged his bets on any proposed fixes. He also also refused to condemn the so-called “Slaughter Solution,” a parliamentary maneuver that would shield House Democrats from an up-or-down vote.
Kratovil is particularly vulnerable. He beat Harris with less than 3,000 votes in a district that went decisively for John McCain 58 to 40 percent.
So far, it looks like this Maryland Democrat won’t be taking one for the team.
