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Looks like Obama has a fight on his hands with this one. He really would not want to do something this big without the overwhelming support of his own party.
I hope they find a way to compromise and throw thier full support behind some kind of program, otherwise it might end up like Hillarys plan and experience a still-birth. Then its another decade or two before another opportunity.
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President Barack Obama's plan for a government health insurance program has touched off an increasingly fierce Democratic civil war on Capitol Hill, as liberals fearful about squandering the chance to achieve that goal are taking aggressive steps to keep moderates in line.
When Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) called the public plan a deal breaker, a progressive group co-founded by Joe Trippi launched a campaign in Nebraska accusing the senator of being a "sellout" for special interests.
After a strategy memo by the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way cautioned Democrats on overreaching on a public plan, Daily Kos bloggers went on the attack, and Third Way now faces a coordinated effort to pressure Third Way donors.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is the next target. On Tuesday, she said she opposed the public plan. By Wednesday, the liberal Health Care for America Now was drawing up a plan to change her mind.
"It is all about Democrats," said Adam Green, chief executive officer of Change Congress, which launched the Nelson campaign. "We only need 50 votes. We could conceivably have 60 votes on our own if we keep Democrats unified. It is a matter of convincing Democrats whose conventional wisdom is based on the old political order. This is an extremely popular proposal spearheaded by an extremely popular president, and it is OK to support it."
Amid the signs of party discord, Obama is stepping up his personal efforts to push a public plan, with his first health-care town hall event Thursday in Green Bay, Wisc. On Monday, he’ll travel to Chicago to address the annual meeting of the American Medical Association, which is not on board with a government insurance program.
AMA President Nancy Nielsen has raised concerns that the public option would underpay doctors, and the group will tell the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee at a hearing Thursday that it opposes the proposal, which could deal a serious blow to Obama's effort to convince lawmakers and voters that a government plan is the way to go.
Still, the White House appeared to be testing out a new sales-pitch Wednesday, with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs saying of the debate on Capitol Hill, “You're likely to hear two very important words: choice and competition. A public option . . . is nothing more than the ability to provide more choice through competition.”
Obama has talked repeatedly about securing Republican votes on health care reform, but he first has to win over the moderate Democrats who have refused to commit. The president could get around them by using the reconciliation process, which allows a bill to win passage on 51 votes instead of a filibuster-proof 60.
Yet this voting bloc still appears to matter, given the prolonged absences of Sens. Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd, the vacant seat in Minnesota and the still-sizable number of undecided Senate moderates.
Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana is undecided but said he is keeping an "open mind." The same goes for Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. Interest groups are closely watching Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, and Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
Change Congress considers its effort with Nelson a success – and other wavering Democrats can expect the same if they don't back the public plan, Green said. Democrats in Nebraska encouraged the group to "kill him with kindness," but Change Congress decided open pressure was the better route, sending 3,000 direct mail pieces and placing $10,000 in Internet ads.
Nelson is no longer calling the public plan a "deal breaker."
"That is the model everyone should use to make sure Democrats follow Barack Obama's lead on the public option," Green said. "When Democratic politicians are siding with special interest contributors over constituents, we have to call them out on it."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories...xzz0I94fneGc&D
I hope they find a way to compromise and throw thier full support behind some kind of program, otherwise it might end up like Hillarys plan and experience a still-birth. Then its another decade or two before another opportunity.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
President Barack Obama's plan for a government health insurance program has touched off an increasingly fierce Democratic civil war on Capitol Hill, as liberals fearful about squandering the chance to achieve that goal are taking aggressive steps to keep moderates in line.
When Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) called the public plan a deal breaker, a progressive group co-founded by Joe Trippi launched a campaign in Nebraska accusing the senator of being a "sellout" for special interests.
After a strategy memo by the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way cautioned Democrats on overreaching on a public plan, Daily Kos bloggers went on the attack, and Third Way now faces a coordinated effort to pressure Third Way donors.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is the next target. On Tuesday, she said she opposed the public plan. By Wednesday, the liberal Health Care for America Now was drawing up a plan to change her mind.
"It is all about Democrats," said Adam Green, chief executive officer of Change Congress, which launched the Nelson campaign. "We only need 50 votes. We could conceivably have 60 votes on our own if we keep Democrats unified. It is a matter of convincing Democrats whose conventional wisdom is based on the old political order. This is an extremely popular proposal spearheaded by an extremely popular president, and it is OK to support it."
Amid the signs of party discord, Obama is stepping up his personal efforts to push a public plan, with his first health-care town hall event Thursday in Green Bay, Wisc. On Monday, he’ll travel to Chicago to address the annual meeting of the American Medical Association, which is not on board with a government insurance program.
AMA President Nancy Nielsen has raised concerns that the public option would underpay doctors, and the group will tell the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee at a hearing Thursday that it opposes the proposal, which could deal a serious blow to Obama's effort to convince lawmakers and voters that a government plan is the way to go.
Still, the White House appeared to be testing out a new sales-pitch Wednesday, with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs saying of the debate on Capitol Hill, “You're likely to hear two very important words: choice and competition. A public option . . . is nothing more than the ability to provide more choice through competition.”
Obama has talked repeatedly about securing Republican votes on health care reform, but he first has to win over the moderate Democrats who have refused to commit. The president could get around them by using the reconciliation process, which allows a bill to win passage on 51 votes instead of a filibuster-proof 60.
Yet this voting bloc still appears to matter, given the prolonged absences of Sens. Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd, the vacant seat in Minnesota and the still-sizable number of undecided Senate moderates.
Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana is undecided but said he is keeping an "open mind." The same goes for Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. Interest groups are closely watching Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, and Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
Change Congress considers its effort with Nelson a success – and other wavering Democrats can expect the same if they don't back the public plan, Green said. Democrats in Nebraska encouraged the group to "kill him with kindness," but Change Congress decided open pressure was the better route, sending 3,000 direct mail pieces and placing $10,000 in Internet ads.
Nelson is no longer calling the public plan a "deal breaker."
"That is the model everyone should use to make sure Democrats follow Barack Obama's lead on the public option," Green said. "When Democratic politicians are siding with special interest contributors over constituents, we have to call them out on it."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories...xzz0I94fneGc&D