Senate Dems To Obama: Please Tell Us What To Do On Public Option
That’s the message senior Senate Democrats are sending to the White House in this Roll Call piece (sub only), which details the ways Obama and White House officials will be heavily involved in the negotiations over the final health care bill that emerges from the Senate:
Senior White House officials are scheduled to be in the room throughout negotiations to merge competing Senate health care bills from the Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees, with the expectation that they will make key decisions to mediate disagreements. In advance of the floor action to follow, Obama and top administration officials have been lobbying Senate Democrats to secure support for a final package.
“The White House presence in the merger will be huge, and it has to be,” a senior Democratic Senate aide said Monday. “President Obama will have to weigh in on the most difficult issues.”…
Democratic sources say Obama is going to have to make the final call on the controversial issues, including whether to push for the public insurance option.
With the public option still polling well, no Dems want to be blamed for its demise, and Senate Dems — mindful that they’ll take it on the chin if it’s not included — are handing some responsibility to the White House to signal the way forward.
In a curious twist, Harry Reid is more heavily identified than the White House is right now with the push for the public option. While Reid is publicly insisting that some form of it will survive, Robert Gibbs couldn’t bring himself to say at yesterday’s press briefing that the administration is pushing for its inclusion. He said only that Obama continues to want a bill that “ensures choice and competition.”
So Senate Dems are in effect saying to Obama: “Tell us what to do. It’s your call.” Which, of course, it is, though it’s also Harry’s call, and depending on the outcome, he’ll get a fair amount of credit — or blame.
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It will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the next few weeks. I hope Obama really gets behind the PO, I think we can get the votes for Cloture and then the 51 we need to pass it. I don’t think he’ll be blamed for being too partisan, the Repubs have labeled themselves with that already. The Dems have the public behind them and I think passing a good bill with a strong PO will help future elections.
Greg
Here’s an interesting FiveThirtyEight article on Fox polling issues.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/10/question-order-may-bias-fox-news-health.html#
lmsinca, agreed, I dont think folks focus on how politically beneficial it could be going forward to pass the PO, especially if people see that Dems took a risk to get something big done and decide they like it.
Am I the only one who missed this? Obama met with McChrystal in Copenhagen aboard Air Force One.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-ritz/president-obama-in-cophen_b_308733.html
Uhm, Obama has already weighed in on the issue. He made it clear whose side he was on when he negotiated his secret deals with the health-care/industrial complex and when he and Rahm all but appointed the Senate finance committee as the entity that was writing the “real” bill.
The PO is dead. The Dem “leadership” is only keeping the zombie alive so that when they finally go to lop it’s head off the DFH’s won’t have time to react.
Until it’s a done deal…
Imsinca, yup….sorry!
Regarding Obama coming out on specifics…Considering how anything Obama supports, every conservative talk show host and news program makes priority #1 to make it seem as though there is a consensus across numerous demographics of the U.S., even when it’s something like the Olympics, an event associated with National pride, I’d say it was a good call for Obama to stay clear of specifics on this plan.
McMia must have one of those inside sources modern day journalists are becoming famous for.
mikefromA
That’s what happens when I work and blog at the same time.
Yes indeed Mike fro A, I have top secret sources. Yes, super-duper top secrect insider sources:
The Hill:
The Senate has been fairly clear that they cannot pass a healthcare bill including a public option, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel asserted Wednesday evening.
Emanuel professed pessimism that healthcare reform would include a strict public (or “government-run”) option, though he signaled an expectation that House liberals may still push for the prized reform.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/60163-emanuel-bearish-on-public-options-chances-in-the-senate
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Scroll Down For Video
WASHINGTON – Bowing to Republican pressure, President Barack Obama’s administration signaled on Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/16/sebelius-public-health-ca_n_260511.html
Obama himself calls the PO “just a sliver”.
Yes indeed Mike fro A, I have top secret sources.
Or maybe I just refuse to put on the rose-colored Obamabot glasses.
The PO is dead, they have spent the last couple months telegraphing they want it dropped and in the end it will be gone.
FDR took on the powers that be, Obama accommodates them…
McMia — Are you Jane Hamsher? We all wish we had your ’sources’ and certainty. Tell me who’s gonna win the World Series so I can get some bets down, Jane.
“mindful that they’ll take it on the chin if it’s not included — are handing some responsibility to the White House to signal the way forward.”
Well of course they are, but it’s still on Congress – not the Executive because the Executive can’t do it – Congress has to.
“McMia — Are you Jane Hamsher?”
I have to laugh – that was very damn funny, Nick.
LOL!
I am very encouraged but the movement of the Senate, especially Harry Reid. I agree with others that the White House is better off not drawing any lines in the sand. Many senators do not like being told what to do, especially publicly, from the president. I think behind-the-scenes exertion of of influence is best for now.
In college I used to hang out with a lot of ideological liberals, I learned quickly that they want Democrats to fail as much as Republicans, so they can be proven right. Obama will pass a bill with a weak PO but it will be the groundwork for future improvements. Obama’s agenda is the most liberal in decades. Sure, Obama is more conservative than I am, but Obama is far more liberal than most of the Senate, too. At some point, pragmatism has to factor in to liberalism. Pressuring our leaders is good, declaring them useless before they have proven so, is pure ideology.
They are going to back door the Gov’t Run Public Option and put in there health care reform bill. We need a Free Market answer to solve our Health Care issues that is determined by the public not by the Gov’t. Here is a video to explain the Public Option Trigger.
https://americanpatriotsprevail.com/Govt_Run_Health_Care_Public.html
Thank You
Louis
The opposition is losing steam. The PO is polling solidly at 60-65%.Some Dems might vote against the final bill but I don’t think tha they will vote for a filibuster. I say it passes 53 -47.
I am a life-long Democrat and have given thousands of dollars over the years to the Party, but they are not getting one more nickel from me if there isn’t a strong public option in this legislation. I have informed both of my senators and the state party chairman of this. I know I am not alone in this threat, either. The Democratic Party is kaput without a strong public option in this bill.
Obama is used to voting “present” on these kind of tough issues.
What we will probably wind up with is the trigger either national or state initiated to get Olympia Snow on board. Obama is more of a politician than he is an idealist. He will take what he can get and if he gets one republican it becomes a bipartisan bill in is mind
I would prefer a single payer system but we will have to wait another day for that modification.
The back of my car is plastered with Dem bumper stickers but I have a scraper and I’m not afraid to use it.
I’ve sent letters to my reps and the Dem leadership. They need to recognize that mandates without a public option that has reimbursement based on Medicare rates and is available to everyone is not the change for which we worked so hard and can not be credibly spun as “reform”. There will be a price to pay if that is where they end up.
Check with the insurance company CEO’s and see if they will knock on hundreds of doors and make hundreds of phone calls supporting your next campaign (like we did). Will they be at the apple festivals and car shows and local farmers markets passing out your literature and talking up your candidacy (like we did)? Will they go out and register new voters for you (like we did)? Maybe…but I doubt it. What good will insurance company or Wall Street money or oil industry money do you if you can’t get true grass roots volunteers? No feet on the street equals defeat. Maybe you can convince the republicans to work and vote for you…but I doubt it. I’m putting the Dems on notice…don’t come to me in November and expect me to be there for you if you abandon me, the agenda our party ran on and the American people. I carried a sign at my Town Hall meeting that read “Standing Together for Health Insurance Reform”…I’m still standing there. Where are you?
“We are the lesser of two evils” does not make a very compelling bumper sticker nor an inspiring campaign slogan.
Sam Simple above said everything I wanted to say – The Democratic Party is kaput without a strong public option. I stopped contributing to the Democratic Party. Voting “present” will not do it.
They really need to use the Federal Reserve to aid cities and states facing bankruptcy, and to make the necessary investments in industry, infrastructure and research to stimulate the economy.
I think a PO will be in the bill the majority of the people support it.Even if it is given an opt out by some red states IMO it would have to be voted to opt out at ant rate A state could not just pass something to opt out without peoples input.And whoever said President Obama should stay out of particulars is right it isn’t only that congress does not like to be told to do it my way but this administration is not the last one it listens to what people are saying and if President Obama came out right and said something it would be twisted and turned like others comments have been
I think this whole thing has become a farce. Mr. Obama has been behaving like a timid child and letting the goons on the right get away with murder while Max Baucus and his fellow Dinos on the Senate Finance Committee eviscerate reform. As delivered by the Senate, this is nothing more than a handout to insurance companies and large hospital corporations. I should have voted for the Green Party or just stayed home for the first time in my life on election day.
CUE in VA absolutely nails this. This is the message we need to get through Obama’s defense squad. No PO and you are toast!