Obama tells donors health-care fight may loom after court rules

[boxman15]

President Barack Obama is confiding to Democratic donors that he may have to revisit the health-care issue in a second term, a position at odds with his publicly expressed confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the Affordable Care Act, according to three Democratic activists.

snip

Obama’s answers (at a meeting with Democratic donors), which begin with the president repeating his contention that the high court will uphold the law, have led some contributors to conclude the White House is making contingency plans should the justices strike down parts of the law, which would give Republicans a powerful talking point about one of his signature issues.

snip

Yet a planning memo, including a reminder that it’s important “to continue projecting confidence that the court will uphold the law,” was discussed at a May 29 meeting hosted by a group called Protect Your Care, attended by officials from the White House and Department of Health and Human Services, said one of the attendees, who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

“The best way to demonstrate public outrage or public celebration about the decision is to stage an event that shows average people actually responding to the news,” according to the memo, e-mailed on May 16 by an official at the Herndon Alliance, a coalition of groups that backs the health-care overhaul.

“The White House is obviously very involved in this stuff,” said Bob Crittenden, executive director of the Herndon Alliance. “Some of the groups we work with have very close connections with the White House.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-01/obama-tells-donors-health-care-fight-may-loom-after-court-rules.html

It's an interesting article. Read into it what you wish.

[bluestateguy]

1. These closed door fundraisers mean just that: closed door, no media, no blabbing

Who leaked?

[boxman15]

2. That is a good question.

It shouldn't have happened.

It's reassuring to me at least that the President has a plan, or is at least working on one, if the ACA is overturned, from both a campaign and legislative perspective.

[Drunken Irishman]

3. That is good...though it sounds like they're not nearly as confident as they were earlier this year.

And that sucks.

[boxman15]

5. That makes me wonder if someone in the Supreme Court leaked info.

There have been cases (documented later on, of course) that members of the Supreme Court of the same party as the president leak the results of high-profile cases that affect the administration ahead of time so they can prepare for any consequences. That's just speculation, of course. I hope like hell it's upheld. This bill does a hell of a lot of good for so many people and puts this country on the right path for health care. But we'll see what happens, I guess.

[pnwmom]

4. So he's being realistic. Good.

There SHOULD always be a contingency plan.

[AndyTiedye]

6. OF COURSE It Will Be Overturned. Everyone and their Dog Knows That

How could the most partisan Supreme Court ever possibly pass up the opportunity to undo the signature achievement of this adminstration?

They will overturn the whole thing, with the broadest ruling possible in the Citizens United tradition, keeping America's insurance company profits safe for another generation if not longer.

The media will go into full feeding frenzy when the ruling comes out (the details of which are also being planned out as we write this).

Of course the administration is planning some major damage control. We're going to need it!

[GusFring]

7. Does anyone with sense think that court will uphold the law? Of course not. 5-4 as always

[Volaris]

8. Then the Democratic Party's IMMEDIATE response should be...

"Well, well, would you look at that? The REPUBLICAN (and free-market, mind you) solution that we went along with for the sake of "bi-partisanship" just got destroyed as UNFUCKINGCONSTITUTIONAL by a CONSERVATIVE Supreme Court. Guess that means that we can get back to that Universal Health Care bill now, doesn't it Speaker Boehner?" (and fuck you too for good measure, Mitch).

I DARE them to try and tell the American People that a Public Option is somehow NOT the best solution to this problem if the SC decides this case this way.

[AndyTiedye]

10. No Chance of Passage

We didn't have the votes in 2009, we have fewer votes now, we won't have enough votes next year either, no matter how well we do in the elections.

[Volaris]

12. (sigh)...yeah, I know....I suppose you and I are in total agreement, however,

that a Constitutional CONSTRUCTIONIST Senate majority is fifty votes plus ONE, instead of 11...

gotta admire them damn 'pubbies for the way that all of their ideas ONLY and EVER seem to work in in one direction, and not the other.

It's still the argument I would use, if for no other reason than that we get to say the "good ideas" that come out of this country's GOP think tanks should constitute, at the very least, an abuse of Language=)

[mainer]

13. Except before, everyone thought there was another option

Once Obamacare is ruled unconstitutional, we can move toward Medicare for all. Since Medicare, just by its existence, is constitutional.

[AndyTiedye]

14. When the ACA is Overturned, It is Game Over for Health Care Reform

There will be no movement towards "Medicare for All" in Washington.
"Medicare for Nobody" is more likely.

It wouldn't be a complete surprise if the Supreme Court ruling is so broad that it takes out Medicare as well.
We know that TPTPB want it gone, and their mouthpieces in Washington would take less heat for it that way.

Even if the Court ruling only affects the ACA, it will still lend momentum to Repiglickin efforts to kill Medicare.

Such a ruling would also be very bad for the electoral prospects of Obama and the Democrats
(which is why they are already planning a major post-ruling damage control campaign).

[boxman15]

9. Kick. Nt

[dinopipie]

11. The people would have Obama's back right now if he

had openly and vocally fought for single payer and price controls on prescription meds even if he had lost it would have been a win.

Seeing that he did not he is now in a mess he created all by himself with his moderate pals.

Must be all part of that 10000 dimensional chess so many says he plays.

[loyalsister]

15. To rephrase

the opposition from the left would have his back.

I think there is a larger constituency that recognizes the political reality, combined with those who actually like the plan.

Either way, we will all fare better if Obama makes the next SC nominations and has an opportunity to make improvements on the ACA.

We definitely need to hold him accountable. And we are all free to simply complain and ignore any implications for the future.
But, we will have a greater chance to truly hold him accountable if opposition and negativity subside just long enough to get him re-elected.