"Obama Begins Summoning Undecided House Dems For One-On-One Meetings"

[Clio the Leo]

Obama Begins Summoning Undecided House Dems For One-On-One Meetings

The full court press is underway.

Late last week, a source says, President Obama summoned a key undecided House Democrat, New York Rep Scott Murphy, for a one-on-one meeting at the White House — a sign that he’s beginning to lavish direct personal attention on individual members of Congress to persuade them to vote for the Senate bill.

According to a source familiar with the meeting, the President asked Murphy what he needed in the bill in order to support it. Murphy is being closely watched right now because he voted No last time, and flipping him to Yes would be a key get for Dem vote-counters.

“It was, `What are you looking for in the bill?’” the source says, describing the President’s request. “Scott was pressing him on the need for cost control. Medicare fraud came up. Scott said we need to step up — what we did in the House last time was not enough.”

The meeting is interesting because it suggests that on-the-fence Dems such as Murphy are seriously in the hunt for something to give them the cover they need to support the bill. That’s because the pressure on them to vote Yes is excrutiatingly intense.

In Murphy’s case, he needs to worry about the fact that the Working Families Party, a third-party powerhouse in New York, is now threatening to mount challenges to Dems who vote No, and SEIU is doing the same. This suggests that, for all the talk from the GOP about how Dems who vote Yes are putting their careers on the line, a No vote also carries a very real risk of being a career-ender.

The White House, too, is amping up the efforts at persuasion, so expect more one-on-one meetings like this one, with the President making a direct effort to give individual House Dems what they need to climb aboard.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/obama-begins-summoning-undecided-house-dems-for-one-on-one-meetings/

[DJ13]

1. .....and we'll let you down if you'll say yes

[SPedigrees]

7. lol nt

[begin_within]

2. I thought Congressmen answer to the people, not to the White House

[FrenchieCat]

3. I don't know. Ask LBJ,

:shrug:

[Cha]

5. Then they'd vote for the Health Care Bill and

not get scared by the attacking repubs and co-opted by special interests as my blue dog is.

The majority of the people want this Reform and the President answers to more people than the Senators or the Reps.

[Clio the Leo]

6. only if the WH is in disagreement with your position....

..... otherwise, the President "should grow a pair and go all LBJ on House and Senate members."

[Jennicut]

9. Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick.

Is he supposed to be twisting arms or not?

[SPedigrees]

8. Better to this WH than to the insur lobby. nt

[jefferson_dem]

11. First he's not doing enough. Now he's doing too much.

What tomorrow?

[JoePhilly]

4. I hope we see "The Rock" Obama!!!

[Jennicut]

10. A no vote could cost some of them major support in the elections.

So the yes may not be as cut and dried as they used to think it was.