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Nearly two weeks after U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell bucked his party and voted against health care legislation, June Mabry's phone line is still burning up with calls from angry Democrats.
"They feel like they got hit in the gut," says Mabry, 8th District Democratic chair. "There are people telling me they want their money back."
Kissell, of Montgomery County, was one of 39 Democrats who voted against the health care bill that passed the House by five votes this month. He was one of just eight from a district that President Barack Obama carried last year.
It didn't take long for the backlash to begin.
The liberal group MoveOn.org has been running a TV ad in his district that applauds congressmen who "stood tall" to support the bill. "Our representative, Larry Kissell, stood small," it says.
A group called the Progressive Change Campaign Committee has online ads that feature Kissell's picture and the word "Betrayal." And some Democrats now expect a challenge to the freshman lawmaker in North Carolina's May primary.
"I anticipate a primary," says Mecklenburg County Democratic chair Joel Ford. "What you're seeing is a lot of emotion and lot of people looking to hold elected officials at that level accountable."
Kissell, 58, met in Albemarle with concerned Democratic leaders from his district. He defends his vote, saying the bill would cut Medicare.
"I support health care reform, there's no question about that," he said during a break on the House floor. "But I made a promise and commitment that I would look out for Medicare. And I'm doing that."
One government report says by cutting around $500 billion over 10 years from future Medicare spending, the House bill would sharply reduce benefits for some seniors and could force some hospitals and nursing homes to stop taking Medicare patients at all.
Vote turned on Medicare
But Tricia Neuman, director of Medicare policy for the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation, says it's not so black-and-white. Many cuts, for example, would come in reducing what some say are overpayments to private insurers who offer Medicare Advantage plans.
"There are no explicit reductions in benefits for people on Medicare," says Neuman, adding, "There are real improvements in Medicare benefits that are part of this package."
She says the House bill would close gaps in prescription drug coverage. And by reducing future spending, it would extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by five years, to 2023.
Health care reform trumps Medicare for many of Kissell's constituents.
"When you send representatives to Congress, we understand there are things they have to compromise on," says Michael Lawson of Charlotte, first vice chair of the 8th District party. "There are also things you shouldn't compromise on. And this is one."
Lawson calls Kissell's vote "baffling." Ralph Bostic, chairman of Kissell's own Montgomery County Democratic Party, last week called the vote "a sellout."
The 8th District stretches across southern N.C. from Charlotte to Fayetteville. In 2008 Kissell, a social studies teacher, unseated Republican Rep. Robin Hayes, a 10-year incumbent. Kissell was helped by $2.4 million from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - and by the Obama campaign's voter registration and turnout efforts.
"I saw a lot of material that said 'Send me to Washington so that I can work with Barack Obama,'" says Walter Rogers of Scotland County, chairman of the N.C. Black Leadership Caucus. "It appears that not only has he developed amnesia but become hypocritical."
Kissell has voted with his party 96.3 percent of the time, more often than all but two of the state's eight House Democrats. But he has broken from the party before, most notably in his vote against a cap-and-trade bill designed to reduce global warming.
Some Democrats say health care is different.
"A lot of issues are abstract," says Mabry, 8th District chair. "But this one hits home. (People) either don't have insurance themselves because they lost it or can't afford (it), or they know people without it."
Opposition in the primary?
If Kissell faces a challenger, like other members of Congress he would have the advantage of incumbency and money.
"People who supported him fervently will vote for a conservative Larry Kissell before they vote for a Republican," says David Wasserman with the Cook Political Report. "But if Kissell faces a serious primary challenge, that could drain his campaign account before a general election."
At least three Republicans have announced candidacies for Kissell's seat.
