Backroom political intrigue: How Obama revived his health-care bill

[wyldwolf]

On the ABC Sunday Night Movie!

In a meeting with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi...

With only 59 votes loosely under his control, Reid wanted the House to adopt the version of the health-care bill that had barely squeaked through the Senate on Christmas Eve.

No way, said Pelosi. Pelosi lectured the others about the political realities of the House: Her Democratic troops did not trust the Senate, and she would face a mutiny if she asked them to do what Reid was suggesting.

They talked over each other, round and round, repeating the arguments Obama had heard for weeks.

"Let me finish," he broke in. Instead of signing into law a landmark bill guaranteeing health care to every American, the broadest piece of social policy legislation since President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, Obama faced the very real prospect of failure on an equally grand scale.

"I understand that, Nancy," he finally snapped. "What's your solution?"

Panic. Despair. Back stabbing. Recriminations. Calibrations and recalibrations.

Nancy - Harry - Rahm - and President Barack Obama take the GOP and wavering Democrats to school on how politics work and things get done.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/22/AR2010032203729_pf.html

[zipplewrath]

1. All I can do is shake my head

If he had only put this kind of effort into passing his campaign promises. You know, like a public option, no mandates, no cadillac taxes..... One wonders what could have been accomplished.

[HughMoran]

2. I like eggs

[dionysus]

7. my kitty's breath smells like cat food.

[Jennicut]

4. He could barely get blue dogs in the House (not even the Senate conservatives) to get on board

a moderate bill. Sometimes, being a realist is painful.

[zipplewrath]

5. Supposedly he couldn't get House votes for the Senate Bill

The whole point of the article was once he got in there and did some arm twisting, he accomplished what Pelosi told him he couldn't. One is left to wonder if he had bothered to even CALL Lieberman or some of the conservative dems, what could have been accomplished. All the arm twisting was on liberal house democrats.

[Jennicut]

6. Lieberman is my Senator. I know what he is like. The guy would never budge. Ever.

And he was not the big issue. We needed 50 and could lose Lieberman. Who didn't sign the public option letter? There were some Senators who I think still were not sold on it. Webb, Warner, and a few others never signed the letter and come from purple areas. Also, Altmire did not have trouble supporting the bill because it was not liberal enough. The guy is a blue dog. The arm twisting was on both blue dogs and liberal house dems. Altmire one minute, Kucinich the next.

[zipplewrath]

8. That's what they said about Kucinich

All I'm saying is the effort was obviously biased against the liberals and towards the conservatives. Obama's actions bear that out. He bragged how he rejected progressive ideas. He insisted, right up until the end, that conservative ideas be added. He went to liberals districts and publicly called them out. Had he reversed that trend, one wonders what could have been accomplished.

[HughMoran]

9. horseshit

"the effort was obviously biased against the liberals and towards the conservatives"

Your opinion is complete and utter speculation - AKA - horseshit.

[zipplewrath]

12. Based upon actions

He bragged how he rejected progressive ideas. He bragged that this was basically the Baker/Dole bill. He dumped several PRIME progressive features and bragged that he ADDED 80% of the ideas coming from the GOP. He added GOP ideas at the very end, long after they abandoned him. He called out Kucinich in his own district. Single payer advocates weren't even give TIME to make their case. He spent 6 hours with GOP.

[HughMoran]

14. Chery picking

you see but with blinders.

horsepucky.

[zipplewrath]

15. What did I miss?

Really, considering that he campaigned against many of the critical features of this bill, one is left to wonder where the big carrot to the left was.

[Jennicut]

11. DK is not Joe Lieberman. DK is actually a good man who cares about people,

whatever disagreements I may have with some of his votes. Lieberman has always cared about Lieberman. At least he probably won't be back, he is incredibly unpopular right now in CT.

[zipplewrath]

13. He's got what 4 years?

And then it isn't clear upon what platform he will run. Democrat? Independent? GOP? He won before when he was Bush lovin' democrat. Not sure what makes you think he'll lose as an Obama opposing independent.

[Jennicut]

16. His poll #'s are wretched here. Dems and independents don't really trust him.

He should have chosen a party and stuck with it.

Latest from Quinnipiac http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1296.xml?ReleaseID=1433:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Lieberman is handling his job as United States Senator?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom
Approve 39% 54% 27% 44% 40% 38%
Disapprove 54 41 67 49 55 52
DK/NA 7 5 6 7 5 10

39% approval is really, really bad.

[Jennicut]

3. Two things I picked up from reading the entire article...

One, is Pelosi is incredible. Obama would not have accomplished this without her.
Two, Obama's ability to persevere when the chips are down.
They make quite a team.

[Dappleganger]

10. Yes they do, and yes they did! nt