White House will weather liberal ire, ditch public option

White House Will Weather Liberal Anger; Baucus Doubles Down
Aug 19 2009, 2:01 pm by Marc Ambinder

The White House and Senate Democrats won't buckle to demands from liberals that they revise their health care strategy, officials said today.

White House advisers and Democratic strategists concede that President Obama's poll numbers are at post-inauguration lows, and that the public has grown queasy about the health care debate. But they insist that the discontent has its roots in disenchantment over Washington's ways. They note that large majorities of voters disapprove of how Republicans are handling health care in Congress and that President Obama remains the most popular active politician in the country.

<snip>

In a statement today, Sen. Max Baucus said he was committed to a bipartisan bill. "The Finance Committee is on track to reach a bipartisan agreement on comprehensive health care reform that can pass the Senate," he said. Republicans and Democrats, and their staffs, will hold a conference call tomorrow to discuss their progress.

A White House official conceded today that Obama would have to weather anger from liberals for a while.

<snip>

The president continues to operate under the belief that liberals will warm to the bill when presented with a goodybag that includes includes an individual mandate, community rating, guaranteed issue, and a minimum required package. There's no chance, really, that a bill WON'T feature these reforms. Quietly, to secure and keep Democrats on board, the White House is going to bargain, providing inducements, like more money for favored projects, etc., in order to secure individual votes.

On the other hand, the left is getting tired of being given the proverbial back of the hand by a White House that looks at the world in increments of four years, rather than two.


more at http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/08/forget_liberals_white_house_senate_double_down_onbipartisanship.php

But, it should die down after 2012.

:shrug:


Mebbe I should've added one of these :sarcasm: , no?


Anywho, I notice this piece is from earlier yesterday... Before the almost universal (in an ironic use of the word) realization among the Dem politicos that there would be no 2010 or 2012 without going it alone.

winning any election without the base of the Democratic Party. Republicans will not vote them into office. They will be cutting their own throats.

schmoody.....watch goodwill evaporate in November 2010.

Public option, means public option. Period.

Ambinder: White House “Won’t Buckle” To Liberal Demands For Public Plan
By: Jane Hamsher Wednesday August 19, 2009 2:33 pm

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/08/19/ambinder... /


I know people are reluctant to believe that the President has no plans to include a public option in his health care bill, but according to Marc Ambinder, that is indeed the truth:

The White House and Senate Democrats won't buckle to demands from liberals that they revise their health care strategy, officials said today.

Liberals are demanding the inclusion of a public plan. The White House won't "revise" their strategy to accommodate them.

Glenzilla:

The attempt to attract GOP support was the pretext which Democrats used to compromise continuously and water down the bill. But -- given the impossibility of achieving that goal -- isn't it fairly obvious that a desire for GOP support wasn't really the reason the Democrats were constantly watering down their own bill? Given the White House's central role in negotiating a secret deal with the pharmaceutical industry, its betrayal of Obama's clear promise to conduct negotiations out in the open (on C-SPAN no less), Rahm's protection of Blue Dogs and accompanying attacks on progressives, and the complete lack of any pressure exerted on allegedly obstructionists "centrists," it seems rather clear that the bill has been watered down, and the "public option" jettisoned, because that's the bill they want -- this was the plan all along.

Max Baucus (who is negotiating the White House's bill) today reaffirmed his commitment to have a "bipartisan" bill. Since Republicans will never sign off on a public plan, that's not-so-subtle code for "no public plan." And any time anyone says that, including President Obama, that is in fact what they're saying.

just askin

he receives... Do others not remember some of his most memorable reporting? See Glen Greenwald for examples.

I don't understand why he is being taken at gospel.

The President campaigned against such a scheme after all. Without a public plan a mandate is simply an massive insurance company subsidy. By that logic they could have easily bailed out GM by mandating that everyone buy a Silverado.

it's my line in the sand issue- i will NOT vote/support/campaign for ANY Democrats if we don't get REAL healthcare reform.

The way politicians on both sides are allowing insurance companies to dictate the proceedings real reform is near impossible now as I see it.

... one of the two name brands since it obviously would only work if that party was actually working to serve the needs of the populace it's supposed to act on behalf of ... and that clearly isn't what the Dem party is actually about.

So what I'm suggesting is a broader stratagem intended to help 'level out' the playing field (for the sake of "the Game" of politics) that was inevitable after eight yrs of Bush/Cheney. And an effective way to do that is to do make sure any substantive, humane, altruistic reform of HC is maligned in a way that more or less opens things back up a bit for both 'sides' of the 'game.' Just speculating since it makes zero sense that after a Dem majority is voted in, or, was 'allowed' to stand by shadow interests who obviously can alter, pitch and 'sell' phony "elections" anyway they see fit (99, 04), that they'd pussyfoot about so slavishly to corporate power.

maybe they learned their lesson and don't want a repeat of 1994.

(with apologies to Voltaire)

Too bad the average American is too stupid to understand that the Democrats are blaming the impotent Republicans for their own capitulation..

private insurance company. That act would be as atrocious as the medicare bill Bush and the GOP shoved down our throats a few years ago. That was one LARGE chunk of change that went directly to big pharma.

You're right, if we can't get real reform passed then it's better off to not have something that would only benefit insurance companies and big pharma.

Consider that anything without a public option will serve as another "wet kiss" to the bloated and corrupt Insurance Corporations.

Without a public option, it's not worth passing.

Our country is being run by corporate conservatives (both parties). :thumbsdown:

The future is not the past. Liberals and the base have always returned to save the Party when it was needed. I'm not sure it would happen the next time. That is a very big gamble.

Aren't the moderates and the blue dogs the majority in our Party?

Which is long overdue in my estimation. Drop this ridiculous fucking fairytale that these rich cocksuckers actually give a shit about us, cause they don't.

I find it hard to believe that "liberals" are the only folks who want health care reform. I got the impression that most everyone wants it.
:shrug:

voices, theories and what ifs. These people must have gone to the University of "Babble." Sometimes I think this must be the whole idea. We have been lied to, told little white fibs, shaded the truth from the light, and in general, have been taken prisoner of the political atmosphere. If someone had the ability to turn dirt into gold there would be thousands of naysayers warning the government would take over our finances. And this comes from Republicans and Democrats also. Chuck Todd--how the hell did he get such an important position on television? Jake Tapper? And the media are still giving Tom Delay and Newt Gingrich air time! And they are determined to Palinize us to death. I've stopped watching television news because there is no such thing as television "news."

His is a self-described "Neocon guy".

Don't trust this article. It is right wing spin.

Shortly after Bradley took over, he approved a front cover of Al Gore as a vampire - remember?

Once The Atlantic was a thoughtful, insightful magazine. Now it's just another rightwing rag.

I am beginning to think the "public option" was just a carrot to show the liberals that, well, they tried, but, aw shucks, it was just too hard. And that they never had any intention of actually reforming anything at all.

Obama was elected in a landslide with a clear mandate. Dems have significant Congressional majorities.

WTF?

Would the GOP roll over like this if the situation was turned around?

Why is the media--and many liberals themselves-- framing the Public Option as if only liberals support it? Because liberals are routinely vilified by the MSM, the right wing, and even our own Democratic Party, packaging the Public Option as a 'liberal plan' will kill it on arrival. Once again the Democrats have allowed their opponents to frame the debate and we've lost because of it. The MAJORITY of Americans support a Public Option, not just liberals. But since the lies and disinformation has taken root, support has declined. We allowed the wingnuts the Blue Dogs and the MSM to win this debate!!

Oh yes!!!! Please force us to buy more shit we can't afford from companies that don't deserve to exist, with money that we don't have! What a GOODIE to throw to the progressive community! Because we are the only ones that care!

Minimum required package and guaranteed issue are a start. Hopefully they will make the insurance companies look even more dismal in comparison to publicly funded care. I'm amazed that they are even being discussed.

I discussed these relatively minor points because I can't even come up with a coherent sentence to describe how angry I am about the drop of a public option. Also I would possibly get kicked off this site if I mentioned the things I might do in response.

containment feature.

This, along with Glen Greenwald's article at Salon.com, is one of the best explanations of what's REALLY going on. It's long, but well worth the read,imo.
http://firedoglake.com/page/2/

If true, I really hope that the Progressive Caucus does not fall for any "inducements" because NOTHING can make up for a mandate to buy private insurance - NOTHING. I think it's very important to keep pressure on the Reps who are thus far firmly against any bill that doesn't include a strong public option. As long as we stand strong with them, they can't pass some BS private insurance mandate.

Damn sure Rahm is in the tank for the corporations, but the (D)-corporate's are going to be in a world of shit (along with the (R)s) if we don't get a public option we can afford. And that means Medicare for those - everyone - who can't afford the rates the big insurers charge, as well as the 6%-26% increases they demand yearly. Catastrophic coverage at ~$600/month with a $2K deductible AND co-pays? I don't think so. In this economy, that could take out the OTHER half of the middle class while excluding 100% of the poor. Zero change from our current situation and they'll STILL deny and cancel coverage at will.

I generally respect Olympia Snow (R)-Maine, but her plan for a trigger - allowing the insurance five years of profiteering, then installing a public option if they don't behave themselves - is about the worst of all the ideas proposed. But is still a distant second to a mandatory "Public Option" administered by the insurance corporations.

"Medicare 4 All" PERIOD or 2010 and 2012 are going to be political massacres. The (R)s and the (D)-corporates colluding with them may have a very vocal 39% on their side, but that leaves 61% of U.S. (a.k.a. "Teh Majority") to remake the Congress - perhaps even mount a primary challenge to the POTUS.

Don't fuck with U.S.. 2008 was a mandate and we'll fuck up your shit if you continue to ignore our demands.

Amazing how quickly they pissed away the anger at Smirk

Yes, we still have military tribunals as well as summary executions via DRONEs.





Since Obama continues to bow before the Pentagon and the Military Industrial Complex, what makes you think that he will not, in turn SERVE the best interests of the corporations that run the Health Care and big pharma businesses before that of the average Wage Slave American?

Instead billions gone. No one held accountable. The banks were just "too big to let them fail."

Even without a public option congress and the president will still do more on health care than Clinton achieved.

Remember, us unwashed LIBERALS are not low information voters.

Yeah, Clinton gave us NAFTA and welfare reform: Not what many of us would term "democratic."

did not run for re-election in a recession. He also had Repugs in Congress to blame and could appear to be the moderating influence. Times are different now.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6354062


He is a first class putz