By Caitlin Taylor

Aug 19, 2009 8:22am

The Note: Lonely Summer — White House Seeks to Corral Liberal Angst

By RICK KLEIN Now, perhaps, the White House knows the limits of what it can push — and where it can expect to get pushed back. President Obama’s options have narrowed this week — but the public option has expanded in significance. The debate has dug in the left, turned off the right, and squeezed the president. Yet all the organizing and traveling and talking and shouting has left the president’s plans about where they were back when Brett Favre was retired for only the second time. For all the noise, the polls aren’t budging. (Maybe Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is right: “Absolutely nothing has changed.”) What’s still clear: The House bill will include a public option. The Senate’s in a different place. If things can keep moving (the real White House goal for months now) it gets worked out (or not) in conference committee. With that — a strategy emerges to corral some of the liberal energy that’s made itself so evident this week. Making it so (and driving the narrative even if it isn’t so): “Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks,” Carl Hulse and Jeff Zeleny report in The New York Times. “Administration officials . . . are becoming increasingly convinced that they will instead have to navigate the complicated politics among varying Democratic factions.” How many levels is Rahm Emanuel playing on? “The Republican leadership,” said the White House chief of staff, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.” (This is what it was? “This week’s careful administration maneuvering on whether a public insurance option was an essential element of any final bill was seemingly part of the new White House effort to find consensus among Democrats, since the public plan has been resisted by moderate and conservative Democrats who could be crucial to winning the votes for passage if no Republicans are on board.”) The White House never thought it would get more than a small handful of Republican votes anyway. But this is damage control as political strategy — a signal liberals have been waiting for, and a way to unite the Democrats who do, after all, control the levers of power. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, on “Good Morning America” Wednesday: “White House officials recognize that the president’s original strategy has failed, and they have to start fresh. . . . They’re going to have to find a way to do this almost solely with Democratic votes.” New messaging, per Stephanopoulos: “Blame the Republicans if health care doesn’t go through, and make them the enemy here.” Most intriguingly: “White House officials have talked privately about whether to use the Clintons more on health care.” One upshot of going it alone: “For liberals supporting far-reaching changes to the nation’s health care system, it was another sign that months of negotiations have been a one-way street. It’s time to move on without Republicans, they say,” the AP’s Charles Babington and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar report. Sound like a threat? “You’ve got the votes — pull the trigger!” RNC Chairman Michael Steele tells ABC’s Steven Portnoy. The White House is confident that action will come in September, per ABC’s Jake Tapper: “The momentum, they say, will be with doing something over nothing,” Tapper reported on “GMA.” A method to the ambiguity? “The best way NOT to get those 60 votes is to declare right now that you won’t settle for anything less than a full-scale public plan,” Jill Lawrence writes for Politics Daily. “The second best way not to get them is to make clear you’ll insist on a public option later, when the Senate is in negotiations with the House to mesh their bills. Thus the best strategy right now is to stay flexible – or at least appear that way. Whether by accident or design, Obama and his team have achieved this.” Or not so much: “[HHS Secretary Kathleen] Sebelius waffled enough to rile up liberal Democrats, puzzle ‘Blue Dog’ conservative Democrats and hand the GOP a raft of new reasons to dig in against the sweeping change Obama promised,” Richard Sisk writes in the New York Daily News. Look who else is thinking about the conference committee (and who else finds “facts” to be “stubborn things”: “The co-op approach has potential and should be considered, but it must not get hijacked in the House-Senate conference as a backdoor way to get a government-run program in place. A government-run option is really no option at all,” Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the ranking Republican on the HELP committee, writes in a USA Today op-ed. Yet: “At a time when the president had hoped to be selling middle-class voters on how insurance reforms would benefit them, the White House instead finds itself mired in a Democratic Party feud over an issue it never intended to spotlight,” Michael D. Shear and Ceci Connolly report for The Washington Post. “We’re forgetting why we are in this,” says a senior White House adviser. The president is back on the subject Wednesday, with calls set with religious groups on health care. At 4:30 pm ET, the president honors Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson and a range of other racing notables at the White House. (Remember NASCAR dads?) And the president tries out a few new communications techniques Thursday. Obama will appear on conservative talk show host’s Michael Smerconish’s program live from the White House to take questions on health care Thursday morning. (Smercomish endorsed Obama shortly before the election.) And Thursday afternoon, Organizing for America is setting up a video and phone conference on health care with the president. The new new pitch: “President Barack Obama, trying to regain control of the health-care debate, will likely shift his pitch in September, White House and Democratic officials said, as he faces pressure from supporters to talk more about the moral imperative to provide health insurance to all Americans,” Jonathan Weisman reports in The Wall Street Journal. “The president is expected to present a more emotional appeal during a conference call Wednesday with liberal religious groups. A senior White House official said the message would be tailored to the groups’ moral emphases, although he cautioned the president’s message to religious groups may not herald a broader shift in themes.” Pleading for that new pitch to sound different: “If Mr. Obama wants to jettison the now-weakened public plan to dampen overheated opposition, he should say what he will insist on instead,” The New York Times editorializes. Why there are pieces to pick up: “When you’re Barack Obama and you’ve lost Jon Stewart, you’ve got a problem,” Politico’s Mike Allen reports. “White House officials, by acknowledging that a public option (or government plan) is not essential to achieving health care reform, may have improved their chances of ultimately getting a bill. In the meantime, though, they have touched off the most ferocious backlash among liberal talking heads since President Obama took office.”
“Where have you gone, Barack Obama? Where is the sunny-side-up young man who promised to inspire and unite an unhappy nation?” Michael Goodwin writes in his New York Daily News column. “Gone into the partisan sinkhole of Washington, that’s where. Like some novice swimmer too confident of his own ability, Obama is suddenly finding himself in water over his head.” Any shot at bipartisanship? “Asked by ABC News about a package of insurance market reforms that have been endorsed not only by President Obama but also by the insurance industry, Sen. Jon Kyl came out against all three proposals,” per ABC’s Teddy Davis. Maybe late for this: “Enough already with the public option! It is not the be-all and end-all of health-care reform,” Steven Perlstein writes in his Washington Post column. “The public option has become for the left what ‘death panels’ have become for the right — an easily understood metaphor that can be used to wage an ideological war over the issue of Big Government, and mostly a sideshow.” Next steps with North Korea: President Obama was debriefed by former President Bill Clinton about his trip. “The two men huddled for more than 40 minutes in the Situation Room, a secure venue where the former president could provide a full briefing on his furtive trip to the isolated nation and share his insights on the discussions he held with the country’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il. They then continued the conversation for 30 more minutes in the Oval Office,” Christina Bellantoni and Matthew Mosk report in the Washington Times. On Wednesday, two North Korean diplomats will meet with Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., in Santa Fe. “The White House approved the visit, which the official said did not signal any movement toward the resumption of official talks with North Korea and the United States. But the meeting, which he said the North Koreans requested, comes on the heels of conciliatory gestures toward South Korea, and suggests a concerted effort on the part of the North,” Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti write in The New York Times. Steve Terrell, in the Santa Fe New Mexican: “History seems to be repeating itself. Just a few days into his administration back in January 2003 two North Koreans came to Santa Fe to meet with the governor.” Battles to come…. Asks ABC’s Jake Tapper: “Will Bagram Be President Obama’s Guantanamo?” “The White House declined to comment Tuesday about a letter sent by the American Civil Liberties Union asking why President Obama is refusing to make public information about the detainees imprisoned at the US military’s Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan,” Tapper writes. The agenda is set to get crowded: “President Barack Obama plans an all-out push for health care reform legislation after Labor Day — but he is likely to find Congress and the media distracted by a series of thorny national security problems, including Guantanamo and Iran, which are set to come roaring back onto the national agenda,” Politico’s Josh Gerstein reports. Carly Fiorina is in, in California: “Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced today that she has taken another step toward launching a U.S. Senate bid,” per the Sacramento Bee. Chris Kennedy is out, in Illinois: “Merchandise Mart mogul and political heir Chris Kennedy is telling supporters today he isn’t running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Roland Burris,” the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Pearson reports. Remembering Robert Novak, 1931-2009: “Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak, one of the nation’s most influential journalists, who relished his ‘Prince of Darkness’ public persona, died at home here early Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer,” Lynn Sweet writes in the Chicago Sun-Times. “Novak’s remarkable and long-running career made him a powerful presence in newspaper columns, newsletters, books and on television. His was a conservative voice — but he was hardly a foot soldier of the Republican Party, having been, for instance, a major critic of President Bush’s invasion of Iraq.” “Bob Novak wrote columns because it was the only vocation he ever had. Though he never would have called his work ‘public service’ — he laughed at the idea — he undoubtedly served his country by exposing the machinations of power and showing how government actually operated,” Timothy P. Carney writes for the Washington Examiner. “The Prince of Darkness, in addition to being a gossip and dirt-disher inside the Beltway, also shined a light in the corners where power was exercised.”
The Kicker: “On what planet do you spend most of your time?” — Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., responding to a constituent at a town-hall meeting who asked him why he was “supporting this Nazi policy” on health care. “I wasn’t around in the 1800s and the 1700s, but I’m a student of history and politics, and I know what those political squabbles, if you will, were like – a lot more violent, if you will. People were dueling and all kinds of other things going on in those days.” — RNC Chairman Michael Steele.
For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note’s blog . . . all day every day:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/

User Comments

“liberal angst”, you say?
How about professional and private concern of those who are aware of what will happen without a public option?
Ask anyone that’s had a recent hospitalization. matter of fact, Rick..how about getting some quotes from the hospitalized? the seriously ill with managed care products? the ill without jobs? the unemployed? That wouldn’t feed the right base, though.
The insurance industry has had free reign over costs and scopes of service provided. No accountability for a social good, period.
It’s not a “liberal angst”,
it’s informed sensible angst.

Posted by: gus amaral | August 19, 2009, 8:50 am 8:50 am

Liberals in Congress and the grassroots will support a bill no matter what. No bite behind their bark.

Posted by: Matt | August 19, 2009, 9:15 am 9:15 am

“Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul,”
No see? Please, the party line NO vote on the stimulus in the House – even after considerable compromise, including reallocating almost 10% of the total funding to accommodate a single Republican amendment – clearly set the tone.
The Republicans will come to the table, they will water down the proposal as much as possible, and then still vote no across the board and loudly proclaim it a socialist plot.
That’s not how Congress works. If the Republicans honestly want a seat a the table, they’d act as a responsible minority, as the Democrats did with welfare reform in the 90′s and Bush’s tax cuts earlier this decade (get in the biggest concerns of their constituents and then accept the majority mandate to direct the agenda).

Posted by: jhw539 | August 19, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am

Liberal Angst
**************************************
Define Liberal. I do not support abortion, Gays, believe everyone should serv in the Military, support the war in Afganistan. The thing that is leberal in me is the utter contempt I have for the GOP.

Posted by: Thinking | August 19, 2009, 10:12 am 10:12 am

A liberal is someone who thinks he knows best how to spend ‘your’ money. That was easy!

Posted by: LongT | August 19, 2009, 10:15 am 10:15 am

Something will pass, hook or crook. Mostly crook. Or crock?

Posted by: LongT | August 19, 2009, 10:18 am 10:18 am

I keep hearing the right has no plan. The plan is to leave it alone and let the FREE market prevail. And how about TORT? Alos, Ole Franks one of the worst that the great state of MASS keeps voting in was a disgrace. He does not care about anyone but his pockets.

Posted by: Jim Rod | August 19, 2009, 10:18 am 10:18 am

Go ahead, let the leftist congress pass this socialist aberration and put the country on a fast track to communism. All this just to satisfy the hedonistic needs of their parasitic constituents who are constantly scrounging for more “free stuff” from this nanny government. Lovers of freedom and liberty will never accept this course and the country will soon be engulfed in chaos.

Posted by: rplat | August 19, 2009, 10:19 am 10:19 am

I’m just warm all over that our representatives are so concerned about us.

Posted by: LongT | August 19, 2009, 10:20 am 10:20 am

Finally a good idea for Dem to go it alone and take the credit or the blame. I am afraid there will be a surge of infighting within the party. So be it. At least insurance will become affordable and the uninsured will be covered at least on paper. Health coverage is a civil right of every US citizen. Hopefully all of the government spending will be cut by 25% to make room for universal coverage and for balancing the budget and reducing the deficit. After the elections in Afghanistan, the US should reconsider its strategy and bring that war to an end while speeding the withdrawal of US troops waiting in the wings outside the cities in Iraq.

Posted by: gjkotw01 | August 19, 2009, 10:22 am 10:22 am

The Democrats need to push ahead with a bill — including the public option — but they need to be very careful. If the new laws and system fail… then not only will the country be hurting, but the Democrats will be dealt a crippling blow. However, if the new system fixes the health insurance problem, then the Republicans will be squashed. This is how it will be for all of Obama’s initiatives.

Posted by: knowerseeker | August 19, 2009, 10:22 am 10:22 am

I support setting up co-ops… I like the idea of a non-profit competeing in each market but w.o. the Federal govt. controlling it (public option) and it being run by beaurocrats and politicians. It’s good to have it less centralized and have elected boards dedicated to that co-op & healthcare rather than unelected bearucrats and also politicans that have other interests & items to focus on. Healthcare is so important it’s good to have elected officials in co-ops just focused on that. And they have to be self-sustaining so it is true competition.

Posted by: jk | August 19, 2009, 10:24 am 10:24 am

The more noise that the Democrats allow the Republicans to make, the more convoluted the issues become and the more likely that the Democrats will fail to adequately address situations.

Posted by: knowerseeker | August 19, 2009, 10:25 am 10:25 am

The plan is to leave it alone and let the FREE market prevail. And how about TORT?
==========================================
That is a plan? That is lip talk by Republicans to try to appear they care while doing nothing. If that is truly their plan then I want every Republican to stand up and say the current HealthCare system is just fine so we should do nothing. As for TORT….If in return for TORT reform insurance companies would guarantee that the rates they charge would be reduced by 1/3 or more I could go along…but of course there will be no guarantee…and Republicans will not press it because that is government intervention in free markets…

Posted by: indy_voter | August 19, 2009, 10:25 am 10:25 am

Thinking –> I hold the same views you expressed above. I think that makes us “moderates” or “centrists”.

Posted by: knowerseeker | August 19, 2009, 10:31 am 10:31 am

Go ahead Libs, “MAKE MY DAY”

Posted by: billy bob | August 19, 2009, 10:32 am 10:32 am

Post Office runs efficiently, mail is delivered for a small fee 6 days a week, notice no private company can compete with regular and bulk mail. Then look at private companies like insurance, airlines and cell phones and you can’t tell me they are run well or have the customer in mind. Republicans love insurance companies so why don’t they forgo their government paid coverage and sign up for a profit making HMO. When a private company and it’s shareholders make money denying or rationing care the consumer suffers.
All the elderly protesting and military should all go into private insurance companies, I am sick of supporting them when they’d deny me the same healthcare they enjoy.

Posted by: Hege1321 | August 19, 2009, 10:34 am 10:34 am

If the Democratic view of bipartisanship is to have the other side accept their terms then how does it differ from the Republican view?

Posted by: Publius | August 19, 2009, 10:37 am 10:37 am

IF our Dear Leader and his cronies push this through and down our throats, the 2010 elections are going to be a mass slide away from the Dems and to Republicans.

Posted by: Jon | August 19, 2009, 10:38 am 10:38 am

The dems should “pull the trigger”.
Where is the GOP compromise? Heck the Dems took the Single Payer off the table.
I think that is the biggest compromise made in this entire debate.

Posted by: melchg | August 19, 2009, 10:40 am 10:40 am

If the Senate Dems don’t pass health reform with some sort of public option for the poorest among us this term, they might as well forget winning back their senatoral seats come election time. They will be through – again. The people have been promised health reform and options other than the high-priced private coverage and that is what they voted for in 2008. Will they vote Dem again in 2012 – doubts are high without health reform/public options. They may as well vote republican – that is what the dems are acting like now – tight-### republicans.

Posted by: Ron | August 19, 2009, 10:42 am 10:42 am

My whole life Ive been waiting for the Republicans to actually have a positive idea. Still waiting, all I hear is disrespectfull shouting from the right.

Posted by: Jim | August 19, 2009, 10:42 am 10:42 am

Yeah, go ahead and “do it alone” Democrats!!! — That will guarantee that the midterm election in 2010 will lose you the majority!!! — Guaranteed!!!

Posted by: Hoosier Mark | August 19, 2009, 10:43 am 10:43 am

If the cure is worse then the disease, then I will keep the disease. NO PUBLIC OPTION!

Posted by: Alex | August 19, 2009, 10:44 am 10:44 am

This turkey of a bill was doomed from the onset. Any lawmaker with any sense, will stay just as far away from it as possible.
The public will be making a “role call” vote of our own in 2010. Any law maker voting for this tripe (with the possible exception of Barney Frank, Mass. is too stupid to vote for anyone else) will likely be replaced.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | August 19, 2009, 10:45 am 10:45 am

hege1321 — Yeah, right!!! — FACE IT — EVERYTHING the government runs is BANKRUPT —- Medicare, Medicaid, the Post Office, and Amtrak are all BROKE!!! — Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme ever devised!!! — The government CONSUMES wealth; private industry PRODUCES wealth.

Posted by: Hoosier Mark | August 19, 2009, 10:46 am 10:46 am

Dems are acting like dictators. They try to blame everyone else for the problems they cause. Reminds me of Chavez and Iran where anything bad that happens is the evil USA’s fault. So when the Dems continue to run this country into the ground, they will try and blame the Republicans. Anyone know when the recession started? End of 2007. Anyone know who controlled Congress at that time? The Dems. They now own Congress and the White House, yet the country is getting worse. When will the sheep in this country pull their heads out of the dirt and figure out what is going on? The polls seems to point to some of that happening finally. More sheep need to figure it out though.

Posted by: BK-1970 | August 19, 2009, 10:46 am 10:46 am

Unfortunately, so much of the U.S. has become a nation of “Me, me, me.” We seem to have forgotton about what is best for the greatest number of people! How can anyone, in their right mind, deny equal access to some type of basic healthcare for all people?
The right-wing conservative extremists come off as being the most radical, self-serving group of religious hypocrites ever! What would Jesus do? Jesus would do what is best for ALL PEOPLE — not just those who claim to be “good” people or “worthy” people.

Posted by: jmb | August 19, 2009, 10:47 am 10:47 am

I’m just wondering why ABC has not run the story of some of the democratic congressmen who will not hold meeting to talk to the people they represent. Such as Durban. One rep from NY sent he will vote for the health care package even though he know the people of his district are against it. He said he will do what HE feels is right for the people. That they don’t understand the complexities of such things. Talk about arrogance !!!

Posted by: hkdakota | August 19, 2009, 10:49 am 10:49 am

When will the sheep in this country pull their heads out of the dirt and figure out what is going on? The polls seems to point to some of that happening finally. More sheep need to figure it out though.
They already have and they are eager to vote this bunch of liberals out. Wait and see. People are mad!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | August 19, 2009, 10:50 am 10:50 am

IF our Dear Leader and his cronies push this through and down our throats, the 2010 elections are going to be a mass slide away from the Dems and to Republicans.
——
What?? 2/3′s of the country supports reform you idiot.
I’m guessing from the last 2 elections that its vastly the repulicans against reform.

Posted by: melchg | August 19, 2009, 10:51 am 10:51 am

melchg, they don’t support this kind of reform!!!!!!! Stop with the spin!!!!!!

Posted by: BK-1970 | August 19, 2009, 10:54 am 10:54 am

jhw539: And major programs jammed thru Congress by Democrats since January have been helpful to the public and the economy how? Unemployment, foreclosures, wholesale prices continue to rise – as does the deficit at an alarming rate – while layer after layer of bureaucracy is added to manage those “corrective” programs. One good thing about the Party of NO is that all the costly, marginal successes and huge failures will now rest squarely where they belong. The Emperor really doesn’t have any clothes.
By the way, you say Republicans water down proposals as much as possible then vote no across the board. Democrats hide in the backrooms of the Capitol, negotiate those proposals and strike deals in the middle of the night then complain that Republicans won’t cooperate. They should all get out of their sandboxes and do the right thing for We the People.

Posted by: older&wiser | August 19, 2009, 10:55 am 10:55 am

The last time I saw the public this mad was when Jimmy Carter was ruining our country. In 1978 and beyond if it even looked like a Democrat it was defeated.
We are just beginning to recover from Carter and here we go with Carter, Part Deaux.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | August 19, 2009, 10:56 am 10:56 am

I hope the Democrats pass the Healthcare bill, I really do. Because then next year they will lose control of Congress and the Senate, and then in four years they lose the White House. God, I hope they do pass it. They’re so blind to what the average American wants, and that is less government intrusion into their lives. Go Democrats! Yeah, Republicans!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: chris | August 19, 2009, 10:56 am 10:56 am

its is the same plan

Posted by: Jim Rod | August 19, 2009, 10:57 am 10:57 am

“Co-op” is just the new code word for the “public option” — Nothing has changed — Dems haven’t given up yet! — But Obama keeps lying to the public — amazing that his protection by the major media outlets allows him to get away with his outright lies!!!

Posted by: HoosierMark | August 19, 2009, 10:57 am 10:57 am

New messaging, per Stephanopoulos: “Blame the Republicans if health care doesn’t go through, and make them the enemy here.”
————————————–
LOL, what a bunch of LOSERS!!!!!!
Democrats Win the white House have TOTAL Congressional control, YET they cannot explain in straight forward terms to the American People specifcally what it is they want to do.
They run around playing chicken little telling us our existance is at stake if we dont pass legislation immediately, even before those who are voting on it have any clue what the ramifications of the legislation are.
Then they decide its time to play with healthcare and finally get their crowning achievement in place. Under yet another get it done yesterday deadline from their fearless leader, they run off and slop together pieces from the past and finally have HR3200 and pass it through the house. The train is just running smoothly….UNTIL the people begin to look at what HR3200 really is. Question begin to fly, Assumptions are made – some correct some not. Given they did not create a healthcare plan, they created a very porous guideline that is wide open to interpretation, of course assumptions will be made by those who are not in favor of the this approach.
As part of the huge misplay, the Democrats completely forget that 59.9 Million people did NOT vote for their pied piper.
As the tide of discontent rises, the President pushes more to get the deed done quickly. Then … an internal uprising begins, the “blue dogs” realize they may be the expendable pawns in the game. The people’s vopices begin to rise and they know if they go against the will of their districts, they may not come back to continue the game.
More people read the bill, more people wonder just what is the plan here; what is the end game?
The pressue mounts as the “deadline” comes & then goes without the bill passing both Houses. Now the people have their chance to talk face to face with thier representatives. The upsing grows & grows…no longer can the President just sit back, he must enter the fray himself…
But instead of being direct & straight forward with specifics, the President turns into that one professor we all had in college, blabbering on without saying anything to help people truly understand what his vision is and specifcally how we get there.
Then an old video re-appears that shines a bright light on the direction the pied piper really wanted to see for this issue.
More & more, the President loses the support of the people. So now after all the mistakes, misplays & misreads, the Democrats think the smart thing is to Blame the Republicans!
It is incredible how badly the Democrats have misplayed their hand on this one. They were given a Royal Straight Flush and have found a to lose with it! Now they want to blame the dealer!

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 10:59 am 10:59 am

melchg — sure 2/3 might want say they want reform in “some form” — but 67% also say they are satisfied with their current personal health care!! — The sticking point — Why re-make the entire healthcare industry (ie: government takeover) when smaller tweeks might work????

Posted by: HoosierMark | August 19, 2009, 11:00 am 11:00 am

When will the sheep in this country pull their heads out of the dirt and figure out what is going on?
***************************************
What Sheep. We put Obama in power and we can remove him. I am not hearing sheep in this debate. What I am hearing is these sheep are telling Obama to take a stand or move out.
The only sheep I know are the supporters of the GOP who do not seem to understand that they are being shepherd by the wolf. You folks are the true followers, incapable of leading your party, rather you let the party lead you.

Posted by: Thinking | August 19, 2009, 11:01 am 11:01 am

It is time for the Administration to START OVER — CLEAN PIECE OF PAPER!! Keep the far left and far right out of the picture, and develop a true Health Care Reform package for the American people — NOT THE US GOVERNMENT.
As a minimum, the following elements should be included:
* TORT reform – a real driver of costs!
* Health Savings Accounts to allow individuals to at least be partially responsible for their OWN health care.
* Inter-border health insurance sales
* Targeted language for fraud, waste and abuse of MEDICARE and MEDICAID.
* New initiatives to provide scholarships for doctors and nurses to pursue medicine to preclude a further shortage of doctors and nurses. Folks there is no need to develop a ‘Health Care System’ if you do not have a viable delivery system.
* Language that will permit government funds for health care be only expended for US CITIZENS.
NEED TO KEEP NANCY PELOSI, HARRY REID, AND BARNEY FRANK AWAY FROM THE PAPER!! HOW HAVE THEY WORKED FOR YOU SO FAR???

Posted by: PappyHappy | August 19, 2009, 11:02 am 11:02 am

The Republicans say they want Healthcare Reform but meanwhile
NO -To single payer
No- To public Option
NO- To Co-Ops
No No No! Then what do they Purpose? What are there Ideas? oh I know lets leave it the Same. while the Insurance Compaines make HUGE Profits off the Sick People, and they can drop you when you Become real ill They dont care as long as Big Business is Booming and Swimming in Billons of Profits SCREW THE PEOPLE! THE REPUBLICANS HAD 16 YEARS IN CONGRESS AND 8 IN THE WHITE HOUSE NOW I ASK WHAT DID THEY DO ABOUT HEALTHCARE And now all of a suddent they care they are PATHETIC!

Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | August 19, 2009, 11:02 am 11:02 am

Your comments indicate that you believe that the congress will ignore the will of the people, and pass a bad bill, on health care.
It is my view, that if that happens, congress will become republican in 2010. The public is tired of their representatives not voting for their viewpoint, and representing the people.

Posted by: Rick McDaniel | August 19, 2009, 11:02 am 11:02 am

What?? 2/3′s of the country supports reform you idiot.
I’m guessing from the last 2 elections that its vastly the repulicans against reform.
Posted by: melchg
————————————-
NOT THIS ‘REFORM’ !!!! Try actually READING those polls!!!!

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 11:02 am 11:02 am

What happened to the “transparent” Obama who was going to use a scapel instead of a hatchet to fix our financial problems. This bill looks like a chainsaw running at full tilt.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | August 19, 2009, 11:03 am 11:03 am

Every government run business is broke or going broke. Why should I trust them with my family’s health care? If this reform is so great then why aren’t BO and his family, all congress and senate families leading by example and being the first names on the list? Why? Because they want GOOD health care, not generic diagnoses from a clinic doctor that will be overworked and disgruntled from giving illegal’s free care. They don’t want that for their children and neither do I.

Posted by: pops | August 19, 2009, 11:03 am 11:03 am

The “pre-existing conditions” excuse for reforming healthcare is nonsense!! — The 1996 HIPAA Legislation already addressed the inability to get coverage within the “private” health insurance market — States MUST provide for an outlet of “uninsured” people —- INDIANA allows insurance coverage in a state pool for ANYONE turned down by an insurance company — ANYONE!!!!!!! — (Funded largely by these same insurance companies) —- How then are we hearing stories of the uninsured because of preexisting conditions???? — Because they are unwilling to pay the premium for the state pool — they want it HANDED TO THEM!!!!!!!

Posted by: HoosierMark | August 19, 2009, 11:04 am 11:04 am

Almost 60% of the public is against the “public option” according to polls. So 33% of the population (liberals/socialists) is going to force this down our throats. Democrats have controlled Congress since ’07. Congress controls the spending and oversees the economy. Image unionized doctors and nurses who are incompetent, rude, mean, corrupt, dealing drugs, taking drugs, sexually harrassing, etc… How hard will it be to get rid of them in a unionized health care? Think postal… I didn’t know that hope and change meant taking trillions of $$$ and making it into pennies.

Posted by: freemort | August 19, 2009, 11:04 am 11:04 am

As a Hillary supporter, I thoroughly enjoy watching the melt-down of the Messiah and the Democratic Party.
Good going, Democrats! You called us Hillary supporters “racist, rednecks, ignorant, uneducated.” Now you’re calling protesters “racists, mobsters and un-American.”
The new Democratic strategy for keeping voters and attracting new ones: INSULT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Brilliant!!!!

Posted by: Ex-Democrat | August 19, 2009, 11:04 am 11:04 am

Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | August 19, 2009, 11:08 am 11:08 am

The liberals will pass their legislation regardless of what the American people are telling them. All major polls are against this redistribution of wealth plan. Bye Bye LIBS, 2010 is so near!

Posted by: pmsnbc3 | August 19, 2009, 11:08 am 11:08 am

It always surprises me that wanting affordable health care insurance is looked at as a liberal cause rather than a patriotic one, seeing as the country really is its people. Even if you look at it from a strictly economic stand-point, the high cost of health care insurance hurts small businesses disproportionately, makes our products less competitive with other countries with a national insurance and is taking a bigger chunk out of the paychecks of those who buy it, making it unsustainable in the long run.
Rep. Weiner of N.Y. has a great plan for Medicare for all. The system is already in place, with a gradual phase in period it would be easy to accommodate the new members and it runs at an affordable 4% overhead vs. private insurance at 30%.
This is an understandable, easiest to implement way to gradually offer for sale affordable health care.

Posted by: Lydia | August 19, 2009, 11:09 am 11:09 am

Good. Let’s just get this done. To hell with the Republican obstructionists who are such cowards that they don’t want to stand up to their constituents and dispel the lies and fear that is constantly being propagated by the right wing talk show nutjobs and their stupid listeners who are so gullible that they believe all that nonsense. Let’s just get this thing done without those crackpots.

Posted by: geecee | August 19, 2009, 11:12 am 11:12 am

We all knew the GOP wouldn’t cooperate. The GOP is a front for the big corporations. Look at the last eight years. Who got rich and who got unemployed and lost homes, health care and retirement savings? That tells the whole story.

Posted by: JAB | August 19, 2009, 11:12 am 11:12 am

I Ask Again
Republicans held congress for 16 Years and the White House for 8. WHAT DID THEY DO ABOUT OUR HEALTHCARE INSURANCE PROBLEMS? Now they care? NO TO THIS NO TO THAT The Democrats Better wake up and realize you cannot Compromise with Republicans. If you dont Protect their special Interest and Lobbysit they want no part of it.

Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | August 19, 2009, 11:12 am 11:12 am

EVERYONE wants reform. The majority of Americans DO NOT WANT THIS socialistic rationing plan. The arrogance of the LIBS in congress is overwhelming.

Posted by: pmsnbc3 | August 19, 2009, 11:13 am 11:13 am

I do not necessarily oppose the house bill based on its merits, but oppose it based on its costs. We are already running a $2+ trillion annual deficit, and adding another $100+ billion to that annual deficit to fund public health care is not prudent. If the current deficit is spread evenly across the US population, that translates to approximately $7,000 per individual. That means that my family of 6 is racking up a $42,000 deficit this year alone. This cannot continue for long. What this country needs is more jobs. History shows that lowering taxes and incentivizing business is the most direct path to increased job growth. The current proposals to fund health care reform all include additional taxes and mandated payments.

Posted by: PHC | August 19, 2009, 11:13 am 11:13 am

Bottom Line they want to pass anything, even though it will cost us way too much $$, just to say we have passed Health Care. All it will do is cost us way too much. It will cost them all because the backlash after we see how much this will cost us will put most of them out of office. Those that will have to pay for this NEXT waste of money will vote them out.

Posted by: Patriot | August 19, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am

The plan is to leave it alone and let the FREE market prevail.
===================================
You like the current system? That’s not a free market. Really think a cotton swab costs 77 dollars? A public option IS the free market. It’s allowing for competition which doesn’t happen now when Aetna, United health and a host of others are all in collusion together to extract as much money as they can because we the consumer HAVE NO CHOICE. I ask you, is that really a free market?

Posted by: USMC | August 19, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am

Once Again…Democrats are making law that go against public opinion

Posted by: Jan | August 19, 2009, 11:16 am 11:16 am

Thinking — So you suggest that the Democratic Party has not been hijacked by the “extreme” left??? Is it truly the same Dem party of your parents? — Look at your own situation before pointing fingers at the GOP!

Posted by: HoosierMark | August 19, 2009, 11:16 am 11:16 am

If the democrats are going alone, don’t be surprised to see single payer make a comeback. Just sayin…..

Posted by: pfr | August 19, 2009, 11:16 am 11:16 am

Lydia — What you miss is the route to the goal? — Why take the “extreme” route instead of a “smaller” tweek? — If you ran a business and one of your machines didn’t work right, would you try to fix it first, or would you rip it out and replace it with one that works completely different?

Posted by: HoosierMark | August 19, 2009, 11:19 am 11:19 am

What People dont seem to understand is the word option.
Option= CHOICE Look it up in the Dictionary
YOU CHOOSE Do I want Private Insurance or Public Insurance? Same thing with the Mail. Do I want Post Office or Fed Ex or UPS. The CHOICE IS YOURS And the Reason the Insurance company is running scared is not because the Public option will put them out of business because it will force them to do right and keep them honest

Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | August 19, 2009, 11:24 am 11:24 am

No more trying to negotiate with repubs. They do not want compromise. All they want is for this country to fail because they believe that will make it easier for them to return to power. Relegate the repubs to the trashbin of history – where they properly belong.

Posted by: libertyrulz | August 19, 2009, 11:31 am 11:31 am

The Republicans say they want Healthcare Reform but meanwhile
NO -To single payer
No- To public Option
NO- To Co-Ops
======================================
Coded Message to Angie, we have the key, we can decode your “code speak”!
NO -To single payer
No- To public Option
NO- To Co-Ops
It ALL equals NO – TO Gov’t run Healthcare!
Start with Tort Reform! – Strange how you never seem to say much about that.
Everyone agrees pre-existing conditions must not prevent coverage. But in your world of fair, is it fair for a 50 yr old who has never smoked a day to pay the same premium as a 50 yr old who has smoked since age 15?
Develop a REAL plan (including realistic timelines to gather up data that is still in non-electronic form) to bring a national mediical database online. No FALSE promises about savings! Years down the road, that evaluation can be made. The real importance for this is so everyone knows that accurate & up to date records are immediately available to care givers anywhere in the country!
A realistic analysis into the underlying components in the current costs for healthcare services.
There is absolutely no way costs will ever get reigned in if you have no idea how a $1200 ER bill got to be $1200 instead of $1000 or $750.
Simply saying we need a public option is not going to bring costs “under control”. It simply means the same system of cost increases will continue, its just that we will all pay for it in higher taxes rather than higher premiums. This is the real truth of the so-called public-option.
And for about the 100th time in the last week…
YOUR LOSING BECAUSE INDEPENDENTS DO NOT BUY THE LIBERAL BS ON THIS ONE!

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 11:50 am 11:50 am

MIKE C
So why Didnt Republicans do this during the time they held power they had 16 Years in Congress and 8 In the White House?
Public Option will bring Cost under control. Because the Insurance compaines will have to Compete. The people will have a CHOICE, Unlike now they get what they get through Their Employer and they have to deal with it.Regardless of what they Pay THERE IS NO CHOICE!

Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | August 19, 2009, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm

MIKE C
Since you want to talk about Independents Only 21 percent of them prefer Republicans addressing Healthcare 21 percent

Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | August 19, 2009, 12:11 pm 12:11 pm

Do you know why people are against this reform? they are confused! FOX NEWS There 2 words FOX NEWS! Daily is lying about the bills.Death Panels, Illegal Imigrants being covered,Abortions ALL LIES SPEWED BY FOX NEWS DAILY They are not Fair and Balanced they are a Republican lying twisting distorting facts TV Show, They are not NEWS!And its sad people by their BS. They should be ashamed of themselves lying and scaring old people because their party is out of Power PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: ANGIE IN PA
—————————————
LOL, spoken like a true MSNBC lapdog!
Actually if you watched a few of the shows on Foc, you (Espeically you Angie) would learn something.
A couple of nights ago on O’Reilly, DEMOCRATIC strategist Bob Beckel actually did a good job laying out a strategy for Dems that would bring bi-patisian support. Do you, Angie, have any idea what it was?
By the way, when was the last time the that stooge Keith Olberman had anyone other than a Dem sympathizer on his show? Guess that is why MSNBC’s ratings are less than fly-fishing on ESPN!

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm

ANGIE IN PA you are so right! RNC head Michael Steele was on MSNBC today and he said he “wasn’t sure” if there were death panels in the bill. OMG, this is what the Republican Party is going for in this “debate”: simply spreading fear and misinformation, instead of talking about actual policy. The Republican Party is shooting itself in the foot on this issue, as people finally understand reform opponents are spreading lies instead of debating: why would ANYONE trust Republican politicians EVER again?

Posted by: Amy in Maine | August 19, 2009, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm

HoosierMark
“Is it truly the same Dem party of your parents?”
huh?
The great thing about the Democratic Party these days is we have a blue dog side, a liberal side and a moderate side, unlike the Republicans who have excised all moderates (haven’t seen a liberal Republican since Nelson Rockefeller), and have whittled themselves down to just the far right. My parents were Republicans, I seriously doubt they would be Republicans now.

Posted by: Amy in Maine | August 19, 2009, 12:51 pm 12:51 pm

What People dont seem to understand is the word option.
Option= CHOICE Look it up in the Dictionary
—————————————
LOL…I would love to have the choice to pay less than the advertised price for EVERYTHING!
Last time I checked – Water, Food, Clothing & Shelter were well ahead of healthcare on the needs to survive list!
When will Liberals decide its time for gov’t to provide an “option” to your local grocery stores. When will they decide that those jeans in Walmart are just too expensive? Time for GMart!!!!!
What about those of you who have a big home? Is it fair for a family of 4 to have a big house which provides more room than they really need, when the family down the street has 6 kids crowed into 2 or 3 bedrooms?
When will the gov’t “level” that playing field?

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm

why would ANYONE trust Republican politicians EVER again?
Posted by: Amy in Maine
————————————–
Because the people will trust the DEMS less!
Even a novice at this understands these things tend to go in cycles. Both parties have had their up & downs and every time one does down there are always those fools who say that’s it they are done.
Obama has actually accelerated this process by his incredible incompetency in handling this issue.
As I said, he was dealt a Royal Straight Flush and is still managing to lose the hand!

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm

“As I said, he was dealt a Royal Straight Flush and is still managing to lose the hand!”
No Mike_C, losing your hand is what happened to Bush on privatizing Social Security. Obama hasn’t lost his hand, he is bringing the US into a new era and he is doing it democratically, i.e. open debate, getting all the stakeholders to the table, attempting bi-partianship. He’s doing the hard way, the right way, and in the end, we WILL have healthcare reform.

Posted by: Amy in Maine | August 19, 2009, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm

Amy,
Thank you for taking the bait, I KNEW you would! I KNEW you and/or Angie would go there!

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm

Amy,
He has not lost…yet, but the guy with a pair of deuces in his hand has Obama sweating ! LOL!!!!!!!

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm

The Republicans are ‘against’ everything and only care about lining their own pockets.

Posted by: Sara | August 19, 2009, 2:51 pm 2:51 pm

The Republicans are ‘against’ everything and only care about lining their own pockets.
Posted by: Sara
As opposed to Liberals who are for ANYTHING & EVEYTHING so long as EVERYONE gets stuck with the check!
EXCEPT OF COURSE THEMSELVES….Just like Liberal politicians & healthcare, THEY wont say that they will join this mess they want to create for the rest of us.
AS ALWAYS… THE LIBERAL MANTRA!!!!
“DO NOT AS I DO, DO AS I SAY!!!”

Posted by: Mike_C | August 19, 2009, 3:15 pm 3:15 pm

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