David Yepsen, former chief political columnist for the Des Moines Register, told Kaiser Health News that U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is caught between competing interests with regards to health care reform.

Grassley’s problem, said Yepsen, is that he’s caught “between different forces crushing in on him,” with Senate GOP leaders and conservatives back home adamantly opposed to a deal, and large numbers of Obama voters in Iowa supporting health care action.

“I think as Democrats talk about, ‘Let’s do it ourselves,’ that makes it easier for Grassley to say, ‘Okay, I’m out of here,’ ” said Yepsen, now the director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

In the same news report Grassley, a Republican from New Hampton who is the ranking member of the health care pivotal Senate Finance Committee, said that he wasn’t sure talks could produce a deal this month.

Kaiser has published the full transcript of its interview with Grassley.