Freshmen Dems: Caught in the Middle on Health Care

Representative Frank Kratovil's district in Maryland stretches from the outskirts of Washington to the Delaware-Pennsylvania line — the cradle of American democracy. This summer, his constituents reminded him of their revolutionary roots when he was hanged in effigy outside one of his district offices.

"Things have calmed down a lot," the boyish 41-year-old muses as he walks through a fair in Elkton, a town on the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay. Strolling past a booth for the Sons of Confederate Veterans and a church stand selling handmade floral crosses, Kratovil meets Donna Horgan, 54, a Cecil County real estate agent...