by Michael Muskal
President Barack Obama today flew to the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville, Ohio, to make his last big campaign-style pitch for healthcare overhaul before an anticipated House vote this week. He brought with him the local congressman, Dennis Kucinich.
Helping transport a local official isn't unusual for a president, especially Obama, who starts every speech with a string of shout-outs to local officials. But this trip gave Obama some face- - read arm-twisting -- time with a onetime rival who voted against the House's first version of the bill because it wasn't liberal enough.
Kucinich, once known as Dennis the Menace when he was elected Cleveland's mayor, becoming one of the nation's youngest municipal executives, only smiled at reporters when asked if he had spoken to the president about healthcare on Air Force One.
"I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say," Kucinich coyly said.
Needing every vote, the White House is hoping to woo liberals such as Kucinich using the ultimate argument that any victory is better than any defeat.
Democrats need 216 votes to pass the Senate's version of healthcare and then pass a series of amendments to make the package more palatable to the House. The Senate would then need to pass the amendments using reconciliation, a procedure that requires only a simple majority instead of the 60 votes that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrung through his chamber at Christmas.
Kucinich, who campaigned for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination which Obama won, favors a single-payer form of healthcare reform, and voted against the House bill because he deemed it too conservative.
"By incurring only a new requirement to cover preexisting conditions, a weakened public option, and a few other important but limited concessions, the health insurance companies are getting quite a deal," Kucinich said in explaining his "no" vote in December.
(President Obama is pictured above, followed by Reps. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) walking down the stairs from Air Force One at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport en route to Strongsville, Ohio, to campaign for healthcare reform today. (Photo by David Richard / AP)
Comments
Kucinich is just as bad as the Republican knuckle-draggers when it comes to obstructing policy.
Posted by: HHH | March 15, 2010 2:41 PM
PLENTY OF UNEASY PASSENGERS. DON'T CALL US, WE'LL CALL YOU
Moderates' demand for Obama wanes
Moderate House Democrats facing potentially difficult reelections this fall have a message for President Barack Obama: Don’t call us; we’ll call you.
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Interviews with nearly a dozen congressional Democrats on the ballot this year reveal a decided lack of enthusiasm for having Obama come to their districts to campaign for them — the most basic gauge of a president’s popularity.
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http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=5A8CE8E5-18FE-70B2-A8E473A92C627CBB
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 15, 2010 2:42 PM
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Moderate House Democrats facing potentially difficult reelections this fall have a message for President Barack Obama: Don’t call us; we’ll call you.
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 15, 2010 2:42 PM
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Talking Bumber Sticker,
The difference between the Dems and the Repugs is the Dems listen to their moderates, the Repugs railroad theirs (Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins) or kick them out of their party completely (Charlie Crist)
Todays Republican Party is totally owned and operated by the far right wing whack-a-doodle Tea Klux Klaner's.
Posted by: HHH | March 15, 2010 3:02 PM
TRICKLE H: YOUR "MODERATE" IS OUR LEFTIE LOON. AND THERE YOU GO AGAIN WITH YOUR LEFTIE RACIST REMARKS. KEEP SHOWING US ALL HOW "TOLERANT" AND "SMART" YOU ARE!!!!
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 15, 2010 4:11 PM
SPEAKING OF NOT LISTENING TO MODERATES......
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.
The Republican National Committee is "paying for signs and political buttons used by Teabagger groups" ... you know, the "grassroots" movement that's not affiliated with any political party.
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http://dailycaller.com/2010/03/12/tea-partiers-hand-out-signs-paid-for-by-republican-national-committee//
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Posted by: HHH | March 15, 2010 4:14 PM
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TRICKLE H: YOUR "MODERATE" IS OUR LEFTIE LOON. AND THERE YOU GO AGAIN WITH YOUR LEFTIE RACIST REMARKS. KEEP SHOWING US ALL HOW "TOLERANT" AND "SMART" YOU ARE!!!!
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 15, 2010 4:11 PM
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Bobby's Mommy,
Is calling someone racist the only fallback that you have everytime you get punk'd on here?
Right wing mouth-breathers like you need to stick to Copying and Pasting from right wing sites - when you go off script it's pretty obvious that you have NOTHING other than your usual all caps, attention seeking, screaming.
Posted by: HHH | March 15, 2010 6:09 PM
Still pretty amusing that Obama voted for Kucinich in the Illinois primary!
Posted by: Garb | March 15, 2010 6:30 PM
SPEAKING OF THE RACIST SCRIPT AND NOTHING ELSE :
Todays Republican Party is totally owned and operated by the far right wing whack-a-doodle Tea Klux Klaner's.
Posted by: HHH | March 15, 2010 3:02 PM
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 16, 2010 10:40 AM