“Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House on Friday approved legislation that would allow health insurance companies to renew individual insurance policies and sell similar policies to new customers next year even if the coverage does not provide all the benefits and consumer protections required by the new health care law,” the New York Times reports.

“The vote was 261 to 157, with 39 Democrats bucking their party leadership to vote in favor of the bill.”

Washington Post: “The 39 Democratic votes in favor represent the largest defection by far
on a major or closely-watched piece of legislation this year, signaling
the political difficulty that dozens of congressional Democrats face in
reelection contests next year.”

The White House has promised to veto the bill if it makes it out of the Senate.

First Read notes “the true test if things ultimately get better for the White House is whether or not it meets its self-imposed Nov. 30 date to fix the website for a majority of Americans.”

“A better-functioning website cures a lot of problems — enrollment numbers will go up, those with canceled plans might be able to find better deals, the negative feedback loop might come to an end. But not meeting that deadline could be disastrous. After all, if you think Democrats are skittish now, just think how they’ll be if the website isn’t significantly improved by Nov. 30.”

President Obama’s health care law “is now compounding a political problem it was meant to solve: the generation-long loss of faith in government activism, particularly among the white middle class,” Ron Brownstein reports.

“For decades, Democratic strategists have viewed universal health care as their best opportunity to reverse the doubt among many voters, especially whites, that government programs can tangibly benefit their families. Now the catastrophic rollout of the health law threatens instead to reinforce those doubts. That outcome could threaten Democratic priorities for years.”

Wonk Wire: An epic policy stumble.

“The political fallout from the botched launch of the health-care law is presenting congressional Democrats with one of their toughest tests of party loyalty in the five years of the Obama administration,” the Washington Post reports.

“House Republicans are expected to pass a bill Friday that could dramatically undermine the law. And after years of trying to impale the initiative, GOP leaders are hopeful that the political turmoil over the rollout will provide them the support of a sizable bloc of Democrats.”

The Hill:
“The vote puts Democratic leaders in a pickle, caught between
the desire to maintain party unity and the propensity to allow
threatened rank-and-file members to vote their districts with
re-election in mind.”

First Read: “The question is how many Democrats vote for the legislation… Twenty or 30 red-state Dems voting for
it is one thing; but double or triple that amount would be a rebuke and
would signal that House Dems weren’t satisfied with the supposed fix
Obama announced.”

“If I had the problem, saying you’re sorry doesn’t help me worth a damn at the polls, unless I can staple your remarks to the ballot.”

— Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), quoted by the New York Daily News, on the bungled health care law roll out.