Last week over at StarkReports.com, I began asking Republican opponents of health care reform if they could tell me how many of their constituents are uninsured. I asked Joe Wilson, Steve King, Jim DeMint, Darryl Issa and Virginia Foxx. None of them could answer the question.

Today, after months of debate, the House vote is upon us. Steve King decided to rally the tea-baggers on the Capitol lawn one more time. About 15-25 other Republicans joined him on the stage at various times. I caught several of them as they made their way between their offices, the chamber and the rally. Once again, not a single republican I spoke with knew how many of their constituents are uninsured. The lonely guy in the middle of the video that did know? That's Dan Boren, a Blue Dog Democrat from Oklahoma...

Next up… Rep. Louie Gohmert (also in the first video) tells me my private insurance will be taken from me by this bill:

Finally, and I wish I could say the last video is shocking, but, alas, this is where we find ourselves today ... Representative Steven King, the leader of today’s anti-reform rally, tells a crowd that the Democratic bill requires the government to encourage suicide and/or assisted suicide. Not making it up; he’s explicit ... he uses those very words:

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This is sickening. Rep. John Shadegg uses baby Maddie, a 7-month-old daughter of his Chief of Staff to the floor as a prop during the health-care debate in the House earlier today.

The Political Carnival writes:

I wanted to "spit up", and wished Maddy had.

Yes, John Shadegg actually used an innocent infant as a prop, spoke baby talk, and provided us with nothing more than what was most likely in Maddy's diaper at the time. And for this, he got applause.

The collective (im)maturity of the Rushpublic side of the aisle doesn't come close to measuring up to Maddy's level of sophistication. How utterly humiliating.

Henry Waxman made a joke and said: “That was a remarkable child,” “and a great ventriloquist.”

How could a father let his child be used as a prop like that? What would have happened if he hurt her in any way? The entire Republican Party is made up of fools, and I mean the staffers as well. And then there are the people who applauded this stunt ...

By the way, John Shadegg does have a somewhat checkered past, if you remember...

Washington Post:

Add yet another name to the GOP retirement list. Arizona Rep. John Shadegg (R) is on the verge of announcing that he will not run for re-election, according to Republican sources.

Shadegg is in his 7th term in the House and is the former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. He served briefly as House GOP Policy Chairman and then lost a bid for House Majority Leader in 2006.

Shadegg will be the 22nd House Republican to announce his retirement this cycle. Another three GOP lawmakers are running for other offices. Read on...

This makes 29 Republicans jumping ship so far, and it's a safe bet Shadegg won't be the last to go. This is great news for Democrat Bob Lord who is running for Shadegg's seat. Please go to Lord's website and show him some love. You can read Rep. Shadegg's full statement here.