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(President Obama calmly confronts Health Care Reform lies & rumors at a recent DNC event.)
(The White House is reportedly taking a closer look at moving ahead with health care legislation without GOP support. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., discusses.)
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(The president was asked about the back-and-forth over a government-run public option for health care. NBC’s Ann Curry reports.)
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(Huffington Post editor Roy Sekoff appeared on "The Ed Show" on Thursday afternoon to discuss President Obama's health care guarantee. Sekoff questioned Obama's lack of "steely resolve" and wondered, "Where was the fire?" Watch.)
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(Talk radio host Michael Smerconish talks with TODAY’s Ann Curry about his interview with the president yesterday and what he thinks of the proposed health care bills.)
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With control of the health care debate slipping from his grasp, President Barack Obama pitched his ambitious plan to both conservative talk radio and his own liberal supporters Thursday — and denied a challenge from one backer that he was "bucklin' a little bit" under Republican criticism.
Liberals were on the verge of revolt as Obama refused to say any final deal must include a government-run insurance option, while Republicans pressed their all-but-unified opposition to the White House effort. Obama, who will leave Washington Friday on vacation, said reason would prevail and it was no time to panic.
"I guarantee you ... we are going to get Health Care Reform done. And I know that there are a lot of people out there who have been hand-wringing, and folks in the press are following every little twist and turn of the legislative process," Obama told a caller to Philadelphia-based radio talk show host Michael Smerconish during a broadcast from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.
"You know, passing a big bill like this is always messy."
Obama is struggling to regain the momentum on a comprehensive bill that would extend health coverage to nearly 50 million Americans who lack it and restrain skyrocketing costs. Opponents of the overhaul have drowned out supporters at lawmakers' town halls around the country this month, and public backing for Obama's effort has slipped in opinion polls. Congressional Democratic leaders are preparing to go it alone on legislation, although in the Senate bipartisan negotiations continue among a group of three Democrats and three Republicans on the pivotal Finance Committee.
Gang of Six Call
The so-called Gang of Six convened a conference call late Thursday to resume their talks, their first discussion since they dispersed for Congress' August recess, in some cases to be greeted by angry constituents at home.
Top Finance Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the GOP's key negotiator, said this week that he'd have to take his constituents' concerns into consideration in continuing talks. But after members of the group spoke for about an 1 1/2 hours Thursday, senators said they remained committed to producing a bipartisan bill and planned to continue work with an increased focus on affordability and costs.
"Tonight was a productive conversation. We discussed our progress and remain committed to continuing our path toward a bipartisan health care reform bill," said Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.
The group is aiming to finalize legislation by Sept. 15, and Baucus said the group will meet again before the Senate returns to Washington after Labor Day.
On the defensive, Obama is embracing a new role of fact checker-in-chief, trying to correct untrue claims such as that the proposals would provide health care for illegal immigrants, create "death panels" or pay for abortions with taxpayer dollars. Aides say the situation has left Obama exasperated.
Rally at DNC headquarters
"Now, c'mon," a mocking Obama told a cheering crowd late Thursday at a Democratic National Committee appearance designed to re-energize activists who were instrumental in his drive to the presidency. "What we're going to have to do is to cut through the noise and the misinformation."
"I said during the campaign that the best offense against lies is the truth," Obama said. "And so all we can do is just keep on pushing the truth."
Yet for all the gnashing from Republicans and fiscally conservative Democrats, he faces equally tough opposition from lawmakers and activists on the left who insist any overhaul must include a government-run insurance option.
In fact, shortly after his comments Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared the Democratic-controlled House simply won't approve the overhaul without it.
"There's no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option," Pelosi, D-Calif., said after a round-table in San Francisco.
Obama told his DNC audience — as well as thousands watching online and listening by telephone — that health care was the toughest fight he has faced in office.
"Winning the election is just the start," he said. "Victory in an election wasn't the change that we sought."
That election, though, came with his promise of the government insurance option, a provision that Obama's team now calls "preferred" but not mandatory. During both his Thursday appearances, Obama declined to call it a deal breaker.
"What we've said is that there are a number of components to health care," he told Smerconish, who is generally seen as a conservative, although he endorsed Obama last year and supports abortion rights. "I see nothing wrong with having public option as one choice."
He said "the press got excited and some folks on the left got a little excited" when he and top administration aides last weekend made statements indicating that a publicly run health insurance option was just one of several alternatives.
Since then, Obama has faced increasing criticism from his left flank.
"And even though some White House advisers seem to have forgotten, the reason the public option has become central to reform is simple: We're fed up with the insurance companies and we need real accountability for them," liberal MoveOn.org said in a message sent to its 5 million members while the president was speaking with Smerconish. "They've had decades to fix the problems with our health care system, but they haven't done it."
One caller to Smerconish's program said he sensed the administration was making a misstep.
"I'm getting a little ticked off that it feels like the knees are bucklin' a little bit," said the caller who identified himself as Joe. "You have an overwhelming majority in both the House and the Senate, and you own the whole shooting match. ... It's very frustrating to watch you try and compromise with a lot of these people who aren't willing to compromise with you."
Obama told his audiences he is trying to reach across the aisle to craft a bipartisan plan, even as he blamed Republicans for delay. He peppered his DNC remarks with jokes and jabs at conservatives that had the partisan crowd breaking into applause and laughter.
In response, a spokesman for the No. 2 Republican in the House said he had a question for Obama and his team.
"We would love to know when, exactly — time, date, place — the president or his staff reached out to Republican leaders?" said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.
Republican leaders in May sent Obama a letter outlining the GOP's principles and asking to collaborate.
"And the president's response?" Dayspring said. "Meeting? Nah. Work together? No thanks. Further discussion? Nope. Instead, they went with, 'Thanks for the letter.'"
While the White House insists Obama is still looking for Republican support for a comprehensive health care bill, Democrats privately are preparing a one-party push, which they feel is all but inevitable. Polls show slippage in support for the president's approach, although respondents express even less confidence in Republicans' handling of health care.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday that Obama is struggling to get a health care bill because he has been too deferential to liberals. Romney, who may challenge Obama in 2012, said on CBS' "The Early Show" that "if the president wants to get something done, he needs to put aside the extreme liberal wing of his party."
A Little More Heat, Please President Obama
Here's the least surprising news of the week: Americans are souring on the Democratic Party. The wonder is that it's taken so long for public opinion to curdle. There's nothing agreeable about watching a determined attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
A poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center reports that just 49 percent of respondents have a favorable view of the Democrats, compared with 62 percent in January and 59 percent in April. This doesn't mean, though, that Americans look any more kindly upon the Republican Party -- favorability for the GOP has been steady at 40 percent throughout the year, according to Pew.
What it does mean, however, is that Republican efforts to obstruct, delay, confuse, stall, distort and otherwise impede the reform agenda that Americans voted for last November have had measurable success. And it means that Democrats, having been given a mandate -- one as comprehensive as either party is likely to enjoy in this era of red-vs.-blue polarization -- don't really know how to use it.
That the Democratic Party is no paragon of organization and discipline is almost axiomatic. That's not the problem. The Pew poll suggests that the Democrats' weakness is neither strategic nor tactical but emotional. To quote the poet William Butler Yeats: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
There's not enough passion on the Democratic side, not enough heat. There's some radiating from the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, too little emanating from the Democratic majority in the Senate, and not nearly enough coming from President Obama. Republicans, by contrast, have little going for them except passion -- but they're using it to impressive effect.
Step back from the health-care debate for a moment and survey the landscape. Democrats are within sight of a goal that has fired the party's dreams for half a century. They have the power to enact meaningful reform. Polls show that Americans are hungry for reform. The solid wall of opposition once presented by big business has crumbled. Even the insurance companies and Big Pharma are ready to deal. Yet somehow we've gotten sidetracked onto an argument about "death panels," while a provision that many advocates believe is central to effective reform -- a government-run, public health insurance plan -- is suddenly in doubt.
How could this happen? The Pew survey suggests, basically, that Republicans are more passionate about the health-care issue than Democrats.
According to Pew, those who would be "pleased" if health-care reforms proposed by Obama and Congress are enacted outnumber those who would be "disappointed." But when you look at those who feel most passionately about the issue, just 15 percent say they would be "very happy" if the reforms go through, while 18 percent say they would be "angry." Among Republicans, a full 38 percent would be angry if health-care reform finally passes -- but among Democrats, just 13 percent would be angered if it doesn't.
It's hard to argue that anger, per se, is something we need more of in American politics. But passion -- which sometimes, yes, finds expression in anger -- is a powerful and legitimate tool. Health-care reform is something the Democratic Party has been trying to achieve since the Truman administration, and only 13 percent of Democrats would be angry if it fails? Only 27 percent of Democrats would be "very happy" if reform passes, according to Pew, while 42 percent could only bestir themselves to feel "pleased" that the grail long sought by the most beloved Democrat of all, ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy, has finally been attained?
One reason for this imbalance of passion about health-care reform, I believe, is that there is no single piece of legislation around which Democrats -- and others who see the need for reform -- can rally. But it's impossible to deny that the Republican strategy of generating anger and fear has also been a major factor.
Where are the millions who so passionately chanted "Yes, we can!" at Obama's campaign rallies? Where are the legions who cried tears of joy on election night and tears of pride on Inauguration Day? Is Sarah Palin now the only politician capable of inspiring "passionate intensity"?
Democratic leaders should stop backpedaling, stop apologizing and show their followers -- by words and deeds -- that the principle of universal health care is worth fighting for. They should even allow themselves to raise their voices at times -- not motivated by anger but by conviction.
Passion finds expression in anger, but also in hope. Democrats knew and felt that during the campaign. If they forget it, they might as well also forget about achieving the kind of fundamental change that the country sorely needs.
Pelosi Says She Can’t Pass Health Care Bill Without Public Option
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she won’t be able to pass health-care legislation in her chamber if the measure doesn’t include a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
“There’s no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said at a press conference in San Francisco today.
The idea, a central component of President Barack Obama’s effort to overhaul the nation’s health-care system, has emerged as a flash point in his party. Suggestions by administration officials in recent days that the White House might be willing to give up on the public plan drew protests from some House Democrats.
Obama yesterday reiterated his support for the proposal.
“If we have a public option in there it will help keep insurance companies honest,” he told a group of community volunteers in Washington.
Lawmakers are attempting to rein in health-care costs and extend coverage to many of the 46 million uninsured people in the U.S. Opponents of the public option argue that it would expand the role of government too much and undercut the market for private insurers such as Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc.
Bureaucratic Nightmare
The public-option concept has been criticized by Republicans such as Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi, who say they might be willing to support the overall legislation. Enzi is among a group of six senators working on a bipartisan compromise in the Senate Finance Committee who are scheduled to discuss the legislation by telephone this evening.
“For millions of Americans, the government-run plan would turn into a bureaucratic nightmare,” Enzi wrote in a USA Today opinion piece yesterday. “In the finance committee, six of us leading the negotiations are working from the premise that there will not be a government-run plan.”
Enzi and other negotiators plan to convene at 9 p.m. Washington time today for about 1 1/2 hours. The group is led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, and also includes Republicans Charles Grassley of Iowa and Olympia Snowe of Maine, as well as Democrats Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico.
Still Negotiating
The finance panel is the only one of five congressional committees with jurisdiction over health care still working on a plan. Instead of a public option, the senators in the finance negotiating group are considering allowing the creation of nonprofit cooperatives that could get government seed money.
Three House committees and one Senate panel have approved their versions of the legislation on party-line votes. All these proposals contain some sort of public option.
Pelosi, who spoke to reporters today after meeting with community religious leaders, said Congress has to take “comprehensive” action on the health-care issue now while it has the chance.
“I don’t know how you would scale it down,” she said.
Arianna Huffington Contrasts Obama With FDR On "Charlie Rose"
Arianna appeared on "Charlie Rose" on Thursday night, along with presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat, to assess President Obama's handling of health care reform. While praising Obama for being a "natural born teacher," she was critical of his leadership skills: "He is demonstrating a preference for compromise and reconciliation even before the fight has been fought." She contrasted him with FDR, who rejected compromise with both Republican and Democratic senators who sought to water down Social Security, concluding of Obama: "He's a pied piper but he has not taken a strong stand on health care reform or on Wall Street reform."
Highlights from DNC Health Care Reform Rally
President Obama attended an Organizing For America event at the DNC this afternoon to rally support for his health care effort.Here are the highlights:
—"It's good to be here because it reminds me of how we got here in the first place," Obama said. "We all know that winning the election was just the beginning. … Victory in an election wasn't the change that we sought," he continued.
—Obama said "there's been a lot of confusion" about the public option but says it "can help keep insurance companies honest."
—"When you're talking to seniors out there tell them that nobody is talking about cutting their benefits...Medicare is already a government program," he said.
—"We cannot be intimidated by some of these scare tactics...people are understandly nervous and are more vulnerable to misinformation."
—"The best offense about lies is the truth. All we can do is keep on pushing the truth. The truth is there is no plan...that covers illegal immigrants," Obama says. "Nobody has proposed anything close to government takeover of health care...nobody is talking about getting between you and your doctor."
—When asked where the “misinformation” about health care was coming from, Obama replied, "just flick the channels...and stop on a certain one."
—Asked why he is not pushing the public option harder if he supports it, Obama largely dodged the question and accused the public option debate of being "manufactured" this week.
Using a wardrobe analogy, Obama says "The insurance reforms are the belt. The public option can be the suspenders." He said he considers a public option important but that it's "just one component of a broader plan."
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