A constant and characteristic casualty

During an appearance today at Good Sam's, a Catholic hospital in Cincinnati, Steve Driehaus, a Catholic congressman from the city's West side, explained why he voted for a health care bill that makes a mockery of subsidiarity, a Catholic principle that is "among the most constant and characteristic directives of the Church's social doctrine":

CLIFTON - It didn’t take 48 hours after Steve Driehaus, D-West Price Hill, voted for a health-care reform bill in the House of Representatives on Saturday night for political opponents to use the vote against him in what’s expected to be a tough November 2010 re-election bid.

Driehaus said he stood firm against covering abortions under the plan and that he’ll run on the vote that helped seal a 220-215 victory for the Democratic plan.

“I will certainly be talking about health care on the campaign trail,” he said Monday after supporters praised his vote in an appearance at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Driehaus’ stark political choice was clear throughout the summer, including a raucous town-hall forum in August where he was nearly shouted down by reform opponents.

Republican Steve Chabot, beaten 52 percent to 48 percent by Driehaus a year ago, already has announced his 2010 run. The National Republican Campaign Committee Monday targeted Driehaus and fellow Ohio freshman representatives Mary Jo Kilroy and Zack Space.

"Together they gave (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi a win, but on election day they will pay a price,” the NRCC said.

Driehaus was the only member of the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky House delegation to vote for the bill.

“I had drawn a line in the sand early on about not spending federal dollars on abortions,” he added. “Look, this is a competitive district. It will remain a competitive district. I think the voters will face a choice. Do they want to go back to where we were or do they want to move forward?”

The bill would require every American to buy insurance, employers to offer benefits and insurers to accept those who apply. It would offer subsidies to help people afford policies. It could cost nearly $1 trillion dollars over the next decade. ...