Last we checked, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Whip James Clyburn were on different pages when it came to whether there are enough votes in the House to pass a healthcare reform bill anytime soon.

Pelosi was alleged to have “signaled to the White House that it’s unclear if there are enough votes in the House to pass the Senate bill.” Clyburn, on the other hand, had opined that the “House will pass a new healthcare reform bill with a larger majority than it did on its first bill.”

Over the weekend, Pelosi has started to sing Clyburn’s song, but not very convincingly, I don’t think:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is confident she will be able to get the votes needed to pass sweeping health care legislation in the House, even if it threatens the political careers of some members of her party.

It is, of course, debatable what threatens the careers of these members more—passing healthcare reform or failing to pass it. But Pelosi seems to share their belief that voting for healthcare reform is going to be an act of political bravery on their part:

Ms. Pelosi was asked what she would say to House Democrats who were “in real fear of losing their seats in November if they support you now.”

“Our members, every one of them, wants health care,” Ms. Pelosi said. “They know that this will take courage. It took courage to pass Social Security. It took courage to pass Medicare. And many of the same forces that were at work decades ago are at work again against this bill.”

“But,” Ms. Pelosi continued, “the American people need it. Why are we here? We’re not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress. We’re here to do the job for the American people, to get them results that give them not only health security, but economic security.”

So this is the basis of Pelosi’s confidence that healthcare reform will pass in the House: her belief that members who are convinced that voting for reform will derail their re-election prospects are going to summon up the courage to do it anyway.

And if there’s one thing we have learned in recent years, it is that, when push comes to shove, elected Democrats facing re-election can be counted on to do the right thing, the brave thing.