by Christi Parsons
As the going gets tougher for President Obama's plans to overhaul health care, the president this week is launching a renewed effort to build grassroots support for his plan, supplementing his tour of town hall meetings with a sales pitch to Americans by way of opinion leaders they already know and trust.
This afternoon the president will take part in a telephone conference with clergy members of different faiths, who will talk about problems of health-care access, and then detail his proposals for fixing those problems.
On Thursday, the president plans to sit for an interview with the conservative radio host Michael Smerconish, whose nationally syndicated show broadcasts from CBS Radio's WPHT in Philadelphia, taking questions from listeners in a show to be broadcast from the White House.
Obama also plans to hold a live strategy meeting Thursday on the telephone with Organizing for America, the network of supporters that traces its roots back to his presidential campaign.
As members of Congress take their summer break, Obama is intensifying his attempts to sell the health-care proposal so important to his young presidency. He is burrowing in at the grassroots level at a time when White House officials have come to a new conclusion about strategy, that Republicans have given up hopes of a compromise with Obama and other Democrats on the matter.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that the administration still is trying to work on a plan in tandem with Republican leaders, and that the president and his advisors "continue to be hopeful that we can get bipartisan support."
But White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel signaled in an interview with The New York Times that the White House is preparing to move forward on a plan without the help of Republican leaders.
"The Republican leadership," Emanuel was quoted as saying, "has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama's health-care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day."
Comments
Americans Can't Trust Republicans With Medicare
You want a simple message to counter dishonest Republican fear mongering on healthcare? How's this, Republicans want to do away with Medicare. They've always wanted to take it away, and if they get half a chance in the future they'll get rid of it then. It's not hard to find examples of them saying so in their own words since Medicare started.
Saint Ronny Raygun in the 60s: "if you don’t [stop Medicare] ... you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free."
Republican Bob Dole openly bragged in 1996 that he was one of 12 House members who voted against creating Medicare. "I was there, fighting the fight, voting against Medicare ..."
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http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/07/29/medicare-44/
GOPer nutjob/ "guru" Newt Gingrich said of Medicare, "We don't get rid of it in round one because we don't think that's politically smart, we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition, but we believe it's going to wither on the vine." He then went on to propose cutting Medicare by 14% and forcing millions of senior citizens to seek out private HMOs or go without, all to help make sure Medicare would 'wither on the vine.' And it continues right into present day.
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http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/16/us/gop-s-plan-to-cut-medicare-faces-a-veto-clinton-promises.html?sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all
Roy Blunt: "You could certainly argue that government should have never have gotten in the health care business, and that might have been the best argument of all, to figure out how people could have had more access to a competitive marketplace."
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http://www.firedupmissouri.com/content/radical-roy-blunt-it-would-have-been-best-if-medicare-and-medicaid-never-existed
Former Republican House Majority Leader the Dick Armey reaffirmed this week on MtP that he thinks Medicare is "tryanny" and if that's not worrisome enough, he wants to "phase out" social security too.
Republicans want to do away with Medicare because they're against government healthcare, always have been, always will be. That's a core plank in GOP ideology, they hold it as dear and precious as some holy theology. Just yesterday, when asked about government healthcare, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said the "government is a predator, not a competitor" and went on to note he wouldn't vote for any healthcare reform bill as a matter of conservative principle, even if it has everything he wants in it. So when a Republican talks about "reform," says we must "get the government out of healthcare," pitches convoluted tax schemes and private accounts for the affluent, or spits out terms like "socialized medicine," like a dog whistle they all mean the same thing: getting rid of Medicare.
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http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/2009/08/sen-grassley-on-health-care-the-government-is-a-predator.php?ref=fpblg
Forget about grandma being unplugged, grandma won't be able to afford being seen, much less be able to pay for hospital admission. Grandma is on her own. All so that conservative zillionaires and their Republican congressional lackeys can save an extra 0.0145 of their gross, bloated paycheck, the same flat rate we all invest to keep millions of senior citizens alive and healthy today.
Posted by: DarkSyde | August 19, 2009 2:22 PM
Republican Congressman who oppose universal health insurance should immediately relinquish their tax payer provided federal health insurance. After all, these members of Congress have long enjoyed taxpayer-subsidized health insurance, a privilege that they apparently believe tens of millions of working, uninsured Americans and their families don't deserve.
If Republicans don't think being uninsured is a big deal, then they should go right ahead and try it out. And if they really believe a public plan is such a bad option, maybe they can persuade their parents to give up Medicare too.
Posted by: Planet Wingnuttia | August 19, 2009 2:28 PM
Trying to associate Obama's town hall meetings with the term 'grass roots' is a stretch. When his town hall in N.H. erupted in chants of 'Yes we can' it sounded more like the Nuremberg rally. If Obama really wanted to reach a large audience why not do a couple of hours on the Rush Limbaugh program?
Posted by: Guy Williams | August 19, 2009 3:22 PM
Obimbo and Grass roots? It's more like a Goehring brainwash march.
Posted by: John D | August 19, 2009 3:55 PM
If Obama really wanted to reach a large audience why not do a couple of hours on the Rush Limbaugh program?
Posted by: Guy Williams | August 19, 2009 3:22 PM
**********************************8
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Girl,
Pull your giant head out of your backside and quit listening to PillHead Rush and watching Fixed News Channel, puppet-boy.
You're free to join the rest of us out here in the real world anytime you want to, it's your choice.
Posted by: DrainYou | August 19, 2009 4:41 PM
Planet wingnuttia said: [[Republican Congressman who oppose universal health insurance should immediately relinquish their tax payer provided federal health insurance. After all, these members of Congress have long enjoyed taxpayer-subsidized health insurance, a privilege that they apparently believe tens of millions of working, uninsured Americans and their families don't deserve.
If Republicans don't think being uninsured is a big deal, then they should go right ahead and try it out. And if they really believe a public plan is such a bad option, maybe they can persuade their parents to give up Medicare too.
Posted by: Planet Wingnuttia | August 19, 2009 2:28 PM]]
Why are you limiting this to republicans? I'd have much more confidence in what was coming out of Congress if ALL reps/senators/administratos (heck -- let's make it all federal workers) had to abide by the same rules as they want to make for the rest of us.
Until that day -- no "reform" for me. They have to take the same medicine they're cramming down our throats.
Posted by: beth | August 19, 2009 10:30 PM
May be grassroots is supportive..
Posted by: sweets | August 20, 2009 2:59 AM
Why can't just those why pay taxes get health benefits...how b'out that Obama and the rest of the health care reform starters??? NO seriously, this I could be in favor of, but not just letting any old person that comes to America, even the illegal’s to get health care and our taxes go up the roof???? No, sure, I will cont. to fight this...
Posted by: henryyoung | August 20, 2009 1:38 PM