Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Democratic members of the House insulated themselves from public scrutiny by voting in favor of Rep. Fred Upton's (R-Mich.) "Keep Your Health Plan" Bill.
Clyburn scrutinized the 39 Democratic representatives that supported the legislation, saying he believed only nine had "real serious concerns" with Obama's health care law. The rest, he said, "were insulating themselves against sound bites."
"The fact of the matter is, one of our big problems in Washington is that we tend to react to sound bites a little bit too often," Clyburn told CNN's Candy Crowley.
The representative explained that constituents would hear of the bill and believe their representative voted against their right to keep their insurance plan if they didn't support Upton's proposal.
"I don't blame anybody for insulating themselves from these sound bites because that's the world we live in, unfortunately," Clyburn said. "But that's the world we live in."
Clyburn also faulted President Barack Obama for relying too heavily on sound bites, saying the "if you like your health insurance, you can keep it" selling point needed a more in-depth explanation.
"One of the things in Washington that I dislike more than anything else is when people say to me, 'If you're explaining it, you're losing it.' I don't like that at all," Clyburn said. "I really believe the American people are deserving of explanations."
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