The outcome of those talks could be crucial in deciding the fate of the health-care bill. Democrats need the vast majority of their caucus to back the bill, since nearly all congressional Republicans have said they will oppose the legislation.

"I will continue whipping my colleagues to oppose bringing the bill to the floor for a vote until a clean vote against public funding for abortion is allowed," Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said Monday in a statement. He said last week that 40 Democrats could vote with him to oppose the legislation -- enough to derail the bill.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, cast Stupak as "attempting to ban abortion coverage in the private insurance market."

House leaders were still negotiating Monday with the bloc of Democrats concerned about abortion provisions in the legislation, saying that they could lead to public funding of the procedure. After an evening meeting of top House Democrats, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) said, "We are making progress," but added that they had not reached an agreement.

The problem with Stupak's math is that (a) he doesn't really have 40 votes pledged to kill health care and (b) most of the ones he does have can't be added to the Blue Dogs who oppose it; they are the Blue Dogs who oppose it. When Stupak and Lipinksi drafted a whiny letter to Nancy Pelosi crying about funding women's health, they only wound up with 19 signatories: Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN), Tim Holden (Blue Dog-PA), Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Lincoln Davis (Blue Dog-TN), Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Gene Taylor (Blue Dog-MS), James Oberstar (D-MN), Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL), Steve Driehaus (D-OH), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Charlie Melancon (Blue Dog-LA), John Murtha (D-PA), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) and Kathleen Dahlkemper (Blue Dog-PA). Eleven of them are die-hard reactionary Blue Dogs who routinely vote with the GOP on many-- in some cases most-- substantive measures. Gene Taylor, Bobby Bright, Travis Childers, Charlie Melancon, Heath Shuler and Dan Boren vote so consistently with the Republicans that they are Boehner Boys.