ELMIRA – Former Congressman Eric Massa now claims he was forced out due to his stance and unique position on an impending vote of the health care bill.
He further claims his vote would be the deciding factor in whether the health care bill passed the house saying, “with the departure of Congressman Neil Abercrombie and the passing of my personal good friend Jack Murtha, mine is now the deciding vote on the healthcare bill.”
But is that really the case?
Elmira College Political Science Professor and WENY-TV Political Analyst Jim Twombly says, “vote counting is never an exact science and people could change their minds at the last minute even if they commit to you.”
As of March 1st, the Associated Press counted 215 votes in the house for the current health care bill...it needs 216 to pass.
In this scenario, Massa may be on to something with his claim of being the deciding factor, but 10 votes are still up in the air in which may make Massa’s claim premature.
Twombly says, “it depends on how you count, you never know for sure until you get the final vote.”
President Obama is calling for a vote on the health care bill as soon as possible but house leaders say it could take up to a month or more. 
