Leaderless: Senate Pushes for Public Option Without Obama's Support

[Rudy Adams]

Source: Huffington Post

President Barack Obama is actively discouraging Senate Democrats in their effort to include a public insurance option with a state opt-out clause as part of health care reform. In its place, say multiple Democratic sources, Obama has indicated a preference for an alternative policy, favored by the insurance industry, which would see a public plan "triggered" into effect in the future by a failure of the industry to meet certain benchmarks.

The administration retreat runs counter to the letter and the spirit of Obama's presidential campaign. The man who ran on the "Audacity of Hope" has now taken a more conservative stand than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), leaving progressives with a mix of confusion and outrage. Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill have battled conservatives in their own party in an effort to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Now tantalizingly close, they are calling for Obama to step up.

"The leadership understands that pushing for a public option is a somewhat risky strategy, but we may be within striking distance. A signal from the president could be enough to put us over the top," said one Senate Democratic leadership aide. Such pleading is exceedingly rare on Capitol Hill and comes only after Senate leaders exhausted every effort to encourage Obama to engage.

"Everybody knows we're close enough that these guys could be rolled. They just don't want to do it because it makes the politics harder," said a senior Democratic source, saying that Obama is worried about the political fate of Blue Dogs and conservative Senate Democrats if the bill isn't seen as bipartisan. "These last couple folks, they could get them if Obama leaned on them."




Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/24/leaderless-senate-pushes_n_332844.html

---

It's 1:28 AM, I just got home from a party, and I've had several drinks. Therefore, I know this is merely a drunken delusion. I mean, seriously, Obama could put the public option over the top, but he won't, because he still wants "bipartisanship???"

HA! Good one! I'm gonna laugh till I cry in the morning!

[Skip Intro]

1. I'm not so sure about that. Maybe it would make things much tougher would Obama push for it.

Let's see what happens. We can worry about who to shower praise upon once it actually happens.

Did I just type that?

[comtec]

3. I'm sorry he has made too many mis-steps (all over us) on this

I don't believe he will help us at all anymore.
he'll sign whatever comes across his desk.
but i no longer he represents us on the moderate left (when did a moderate become a flaming lefty?)

Yes he is doing many things at once, and in reality it's amazing so much has been done so far in all manner of things.

but in this i have totally lost faith in the big O.

I'll admit he's a master tactician (look at Iran) but I am seriously doubtful for this.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong... but I have run out of faith and hope.

[saracat]

2. They are kissing GOP ass and their heads are so far up GOP butt that they are

talking out of the GOP's Anus! This makes me vomit. I guess "Bipartisanship" has replaced "Yes, we can".

[TorchTheWitch]

14. No, they're up the ass of the health industry

They don't give shit one about the GOP or bipartisanship... bipartisanship is the excuse so we won't notice all they are trying to accomplish is something that gains them fat campaign bucks from the health industry while they give us a pile of shit bill that they hope we won't notice is a pile of shit.

Campaign money is ALL the vast majority of politicians care about and always has been. The only difference in the last several decades is that they are far more blatant and in-your-face about it and think we are far more stupid then we used to be about noticing. And they aren't too far off the mark about us being far more stupid, because as a country we are. We have not had a media that works for the peoples' interest in decades and it REALLY shows in how stupid as a country we've become. This is why the media had to be propagandized... with the media in the pockets of the government whichever party is in power, they can shit all over us blatantly and most people who even pay attention won't notice or believe their excuses and pretty words.

Dems aren't weak or spineless or stupid or scared, the vast majority of them just do not a give shit one about what the people either need or want. ALL that matters is fat campaign money from their corporate masters. This is what holding the nose and voting for the lesser of two evils has gotten us. The major industries OWN the government and have for as long as I've been around which is a pretty long time. Until we get to a place where fat corporate campaign money is not important to politians on both sides of the aisle this is not going to change.

All this partisanship is a MYTH. For the most part, Dems and Repukes out of the public eye are virtually one and the same. Both sides LIKE it that they make us believe there's actually any difference between parties because we've gotten to a point where for the most part there is virtually no difference and it makes us believe we actually have a choice when we don't. Both parties obey their corporate masters, shaft the people, and only care about fat corporate campaign money. The Dem party is nothing at all like what it was when I was a kid and too young to vote.

This health reform disaster of epic proportions is the last fucking straw with me and it should be a wake up call that we need to either fix the Dem party immediately or form a REAL Dem party.

[Rudy Adams]

4. I cannot fucking BELIEVE.....

...that Obama is still hung up on this bipartisanshit!

[bluestateguy]

5. THere are too many anonymous sources in the story for me to take it seriously

So it gets a big REJECT from me.

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. +1. Sadly, HP has jumped the shark. She wants to be the Drudge of the left.

And, sadly, many are falling for it. When Arianna chooses to feature rightwing loons on her site, she proves that her only goal is to agitate, and get her mug on all the talk shows.

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. You excluded this portion, which is actually attributed to a NAMED source...hmmmm...

"The report is false. The White House continues to work with the Senate on the merging of the two bills," said Dan Pfeiffer, a top White House aide whose portfolio includes health care. "We are making good progress toward enacting comprehensive health reform."

Normally, I would never give HP a hit, because I'm well aware that DU & HP have become nothing more than tabloids these days, what with all the rumors & unnamed anonymous sources. I'm sorry, but Arianna has sunk to Fox News levels lately. She feels that if she can stir up shit, she can get her overworked face on the teevee, and drive up traffic to her shit site. She's become an embarrassment.

She & Oily Taintz should hook up to destroy this administration, they make a great pair, what with the goofy accents.

[Go2Peace]

10. White House continues to "work with" them. I think the point of the article is

that there is no "leading" going on with the Public Option. And one can see why some might be wondering if that is not the case. But I think you are going a little overboard in accusing huffington post of being an "attention whore".

[joeycola]

12. Its a non starter from the WH. Why don't they just say and use the words-We

strongly are working toward a ROBUST PUBLIC OPTION!!

[JTFrog]

8. Tears of shame

for being one of the sheeple.

But props for making it to your computer before passing out!

[Go2Peace]

9. At this point I am convinced it is all about distancing for the next election cycle

If this is the case he is probably doing this for the right reasons. It is obvious that even if a decent bill passes, that there will be a second propaganda war fought to find ways to sabatoge or discredit any success, and the insurance companies will surely be out to try to put him out of office.

In which case he may be thinking that he will need to retain a look of "neutrality"

I am not sure I agree that is the best strategy. But the fact is that, compared to Congress, he has a much higher confidence level with the people. The problem with this strategy would be that it could backfire. he could end up with the loss of one, or heaven forbid, both, the house and the senate? And be in a place he can get nothing done in his second term. Because he is weakening his base in the process.

[Are_grits_groceries]

11. Ok. Even if Huffpo has jumped the shark, what public support has Obama shown for the OP?

He has mentioned it in speeches, but he hasn't given it a huge push. He says the right things, but I haven't seen him giving it a lot of support right now when it is needed.

Obama is the leader, and people watch him to see what he says. He has gone on the stump and given rousing speeches in support of health care reform in general. However now when we are at an endgame it seems and the PO has become a viable option once more, Obama is pictured with Olympia Snowe.

He may quietly be beating the hell out of people with Harry Reid in the lead. Obama may have given Reid some real sticks to smack recalcitrant Senators with. This would serve two purposes. It would get the PO possibly passed. In addition, it would give Reid some badly needed credibility.

If he isn't defeated and won't be replaced as Majority leader, then he needs something to make him appear to be a strong leader. It shouldn't be like this. Reid should have the balls to get things done whether he chooses to do it from a bully pulpit or in the background. He doesn't appear to be getting anything done with any method.

Reid should be the first line of attack to get things done, and Obama should be following up strongly. However, because Reid is a slug, Obama risks using all of his capital in every battle.

Having said that, this is too important an issue to not take the lead in the battle. If there is any time to strongly enter the fray, it is now. The PO is the strongest health care reform, and it is on the table. It is time for "All hands on deck" beating that table for passage.

[joeycola]

13. In his big speech to Congress, the po was only tacked on towards the end.

[clear eye]

15. Good reasons for Prez to distance himself from the public option

even aside from the pounding rwers will be giving it in the next election. The whole "Exchange" thing, including the "public" option really is shaping up as an expensive mandated program (as in Mass.) that will strengthen rather than weaken private insurers' clout. As well as the expense to individuals from premiums similar to those of current large group plans (and nothing like current Medicare premiums, a program mostly paid for w/ payroll taxes), the cost of the mostly small, sliding-scale subsidies will have to be paid for w/ increased taxes on the struggling middle class. When it starts to operate, it is not going to be popular.

And I just thought of a hidden cost to the states' budgets. Since every single person in this country will be mandated to have one form of insurance or another, or face tax penalties, all those truly poor, possibly homeless people who are now falling through the cracks and whose only healthcare now is the emergency room, will, when this gets going, have to be signed up for the Medicaid to which they're entitled, if the IRS does a really complete accounting. Will it be enforced as part of the Senate committee's proposed National ID program? This could actually bankrupt poor, low-tax states like Mississippi and W. Virginia, and bring others to the brink.

Of course I support getting people the Medicaid they need, but when mandated in this time of state budget crises, it needs to be federally subsidized from increased income taxes on the ultra-wealthy--not setting things up so the states get sandbagged.

[Go2Peace]

16. Well shit, why even bother trying to get any bill passed at all

I can't believe what I am seeing on this board.

This issue has been so incredibly mishandled that we may be actually setting the cause of a single payer system, where we all know we should really be going, back many years.

[clear eye]

17. Strengthening private insurers clout by socking the middle class w/ mandated private plans

giving private insurers billions of dollars more in premiums, and calling it Medicare, will not promote "Medicare for All" aka single-payer.

With premiums similar to those of current large-group plans that you are mandated to pay even if you're putting a couple of children through college or are still supporting your unemployed college-educated offspring in this rotten economy, how would you react if someone then comes along and says they want to expand the program? Especially while being bombarded by 100's of ads the even wealthier private insurers can easily buy.

Think about it.

If we're not getting a bill that at least allows individual states to implement single-payer, instead of soaking the middle class w/ the costs of susidizing and/or buying private health insurance, we should probably temporarily settle for health insurance and personal bankruptcy reforms, and expansion of CHIP. No more pre-existing condition exclusions or getting dropped when you get sick, increased enforcement by a new federally-funded regulatory apparatus, removing obstacles and penalties for bankruptcy due to medical costs, extending Cobra, and greater federal support of Medicaid so unemployed, sick people would be covered no matter what state they were in.

Then single-payer, which wouldn't burden our middle-class or our economy would stand a chance of being phased in to cover first the uninsured, then the rest of us in the future.