Two risky moves

Senate Republicans made two risky moves ahead of the July 4 recess.

A Medicare bill preventing a cut in federal payments to doctors fell one vote short in the Senate, with only nine Republicans voting for the measure. A Republican leader also prevented final Senate action on a $300 billion housing bill meant to help homeowners struggling with mortgages they cannot pay back.

Doctors and homebuilders were upset with the moves, which flew in the face of conventional election-year wisdom. Senators up for reelection aren’t supposed to take unpopular stands just as their campaigns are heating up.

Yet that’s exactly what happened. And it happened with the apparent blessing of the Senate’s GOP leaders, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who is facing a tough reelection contest himself. We’ll have to wait to see how this plays in November.

The American Medical Association already is running television and radio advertisements criticizing the negative votes in six states whose Republican senators voted against the bill. The ads target GOP Sen. John Sununu (N.H.), who may be an underdog this fall in his bid to keep his seat.

Advertisements will also run in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wyoming and Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn (R) is facing what looks to be a closer-than-expected race. The Texas Medical Association’s political action committee withdrew its endorsement of Cornyn as a result of his vote.

Sen. John Ensign (Nev.), a member of the GOP leadership, is taking the most heat on the housing bill, which for the most part has been a rare example of bipartisanship. Ensign would not allow a final vote on the measure to proceed because of his demand for a vote on an amendment providing tax credits for renewable energy use.

Ensign represents the state with the highest foreclosure rate in the country. As the GOP campaign chief, he’s also responsible for making sure the number of Senate Republicans goes up rather than down. The safe route last week would have been to allow the housing bill to move forward, and to vote aye on the Medicare bill.

Both bills may pass quickly when the Senate returns next week. In the meantime, the events of last week are a reminder that you can’t count on lawmakers to take the politically safe route, and that conventional wisdom at times can still be turned on its head.