For those curious about Rep. Brian Baird’s vote to break with his party, the New York Times created a couple of graphics today which help to illustrate just how much of an aberration Baird was.

This map, graphically detailing the nation’s no and yes votes, shows the overwhelmingly rural make-up of the health care bill’s opponents.

Meanwhile this chart goes into a little further detail, and reveals Baird to be one of just three no-voting, non-freshman Democrats whose districts were carried by Obama and aren’t part of the Blue Dog coalition. The others are Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), arguably the most liberal member in the House.

Well, one chamber has now passed a bill. It’ll get reworked considerably I imagine before it comes back to the House. The Senate bill, after all, is widely divergent in many areas from the House bill, which is why we have Conference Committees.

But here are some things we’re thinking about this week and what we’ll be working on in the aftermath of the House vote.

- What was Brian Baird’s rationale for voting against this bill? Not just what he says in the press statement, but what are the real politics at play there?

- What are the practical economic impacts of the Stupak amendment limiting coverage of abortions? There are some persuasive politics at play, but will this have a measurable “real world” impact on plans, providers or patients?

- What will it take to get the Senate to bring their bill to the floor?

- What are the consequences of Lieberman standing athwart this effort to his future with the Senate Dems?

- Perhaps the most intriguing thing we’re thinking about: what are the impacts of this reform package on Washington State’s efforts at reform? This sets the stage for a real effort at reform in 2011. What will this mean for that?

When the dust settles from reform at the end of the day, I have the sneaking suspicion we will have just as many questions then as there are today. More from us as our brains wake up to the week.

Just a few things that make me go “hmmm” as I’m watching the floor speeches on the health care vote in the House today.

“All Americans have healthcare. Every single one.” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). (From his floor speech today.)

Hmm.

“Texas, for example, has adopted approaches to controlling health-care costs while improving choice, advancing quality of care and expanding coverage.” Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry (R-Gov of Tex)

Hmm. Texas has the highest level of uninsured at 24.1%.

More later. Rules are getting finalized at 10:00 pst. Looks like the final floor vote is has been pushed back to 7:30 pst.

This morning the Executive Office of the President released a strong statement of support for H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

“The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, a bill that represents a critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system,” the release says.

“The House legislation includes critical reforms to the insurance industry, so that Americans will no longer have to worry that they will be denied coverage, or that their coverage will be dropped or watered down when they need it most. It covers virtually all Americans and ensures that all Americans with health insurance are protected against high out-of-pocket spending.

The House bill also includes a public option, or a government run insurance plan meant to compete with private plans. “The Administration is pleased that the bill includes a public health insurance option offered in an exchange. As the President has said throughout this process, a public option that competes with private insurers is one of the best ways to ensure the choice and competition that are so badly needed in today’s market.”

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