Winning Healthcare, Not Bipartisan Porn

I found on Monday when I called my Senator (McCaskill) and my Congressman (Cleaver) that their offices were overwhelmed with callers in favor of the public option and Cleaver’s stated he was plainly for it. Claire must have still had her finger in the air, but it was blowing hard toword the PO.

I’m not sure about the jujitsu of this weekend, but I do think all these months of “bipartisan porn” were planned. Yes, the Dems probably could have pushed through reform with absolutely no input, and we’ll get the same bill either way at this point. But this way, there are months and months of evidence of the complete lack of interest on the Republican side of reforming anything. If there hadn’t been these months of “debate” it would have been very easy for the Reps to turn around in 2010 and claim that if they had been involved, reform would have been so much better. And the Dems wouldn’t have had anything to point to. Remember, 46% of the electorate did not vote for Obama–they’re going to need to convince some of those people if this Dem majority has a hope of surviving.

The White House was making a strategic mistake in considering additions to a plan that would attract Republicans, Weiner said, adding,”The White House is kinda worshiping at the altar of bipartisanship.”Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/08/19/2009-08-19_obama_administration_we_like_public_option_but_would_consider_other_options.html#ixzz0OdURnRUM

It’s time to fire off another round of emails to Bob’s list. I’ve got the perfect theme – ‘are you going to side with the Repubs or with your party?’.BTW – I got a response to the ‘thank-you’ email I sent Weiner yesterday. Yeah, I know it was automated, but I got the feeling he might actually read it at some point, given the way it was worded.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/ill-say-what-most-democra_b_262221.htmlCheck out the “Obama Needs to Grown Some Balls Quickly” story at Huff Post.

No thanks, Terri.

I’m suddenly seeing a load of new commercials supporting health care reform also. What can I say, order of crow for one please. Nom nom nom. I would much rather eat it and be wrong and have this be a true turning point for the ultimate success of this effort than to have been justified in my hand wringing. Still calling. Still emailing.

Excerpt that I whole heartedly agree with from the “Obama Needs to Grow Some Balls Quickly” article at Huff Post:___________No doubt, Bush was dangerous, insecure and impulsive. A reckless cowboy whose irresponsible actions we’re still paying for and will be for some time. But, he fought hard and relentlessly for what he believed in, which is an awful lot more than we can say about Obama in his initial seven months.There is no better time for Obama than the present. The power and the bully pulpit of the White House is his. He also has the benefit of an overwhelming majority in the House and a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. He still has the support of Americans, who elected him in a clear mandate for change. He’s a brilliant politician and has the ability to rally people into his corner. There’s still time for him to prove he can get the job done, but not much.With his rapidly dwindling popularity, and with voters growing increasingly frustrated by the minute, Obama needs to demonstrate and ability to lead and execute. He needs to be clear and concise with what he wants, and he must strong arm legislators–much as Bush did–to win their votes for his measures. He’s got to grow some balls, for Pete’s sake, and choose between being The Decider or The Waffler._____________In a way, I feel that Obama is squandering that window of opportunity to push something through which is fading fast in a way similar to what Obama himself said on the campaign about how Bush did not take full advantage of the international world-wide support post-9/11.Obama is not striking when the iron is hot.There was “that moment” when everything was aligned and he needed to push through his agenda (IF that’s what he really wanted to do in the first place) and he didn’t do that…….now, it’s all bumbled up and health care reform is slipping…….He does need to turn this around quickly and show some serious strength and determination or he is going to lose this one and it will be politically very costly, if not deadly._________________

I have given up on Huffington Post and Arianna most especially.. She does nothing but bash Geithner and the policies of the president and it has become more and more right leaning all the time.Bob, have you seen the Mike Madden piece at Salon about Jeff Bingamon

Sorry it didn’t post correctly..The article is at Salon and is from Mike Madden

What more do you want this President to do.. He has been out beating his chest on the stump and getting hammered for it.. He has been on the TeeVee Machine doing pressers every month about and getting hammered for it.. He is doing his weekly addresses from the White House and almost everyone of them are about Health Care..He is pushing it every day… all the time.. What he is doing behind the scenes we don’t know.. but that’s just what we see.. How much more do you want him to do.. Isn’t that USING HIS BULLY PULPIT..HE IS ONLY ONE MAN..HE is fighting the republicans, the media, the Senate, the House, now he is fighting all of us, because we are sitting here whining he isn’t doing enough…Good god… people.

Annette — he is turning into a huge disappointment.Much time has been wasted and he is not coming through on his promises.

Annette- I always a ppreciate your input, you are a voice of reason. I too have given up on Huffington Post, they were kinda in the Hilary CLinton corner, and they are becoming more like the Liberal Drudge Report. Blaring, incorrect headlines and ver biased reporting.Terri unfortunately is a gloom and doom liberal. She rehearses for the tragedy—to buy completely into a worst-case scenario, on so little evidence.Anyone who wants to be a progressive needs a cast iron stomach and an almost infinite supply of patience.All people need to do is keep calling and emailing your congressman and senators. That’s how the system was set up. As for Congressman Weiner, he can say whatever he wants,I agree with him advocating the reasons why we should have a public option, but where has he been the past several years, if he wants to become a healthcare advocate, why hasn’t he been fighing the good fight longer than showing up on several shows this past week, because of the idea the public option might have been gone? He’s been a representative since 1999.He suffers from the same calamity as the rest of us COMPLACENCY!

DaBomb…your post was my first laugh out loud this morning!You are assuming “the system works” and that this is what the citizens have to do to “get what we want”.I have other ideas!

@Terri- I am glad I made you laugh, instead of continuing on with your pathetic rants. Since you want to quote how the presidents numbers are slipping and use polls as some indicator of how unpopular his policies are, you forgot to include this little tidbit- even as slightly unpopular as his health care reform message as been, Americans overall still trusts Obama more than the republicans and even the democrats in congress.Actually I didn’t assume that, you has mischaracterized my statement. I am very familiar with the legislative process. You are definitely an avid Huffington Post reader.I hope that makes you laugh too!

@ Bob- not a slight at you, becuase I will read Huff Po for your postings only and to watch some Daily Show snippets.

Terri, keep in perspective the fact that we’ve waited a decade and a half for this chance so waiting a few more months, if in the end it succeeds, is nothing. I don’t think this time has been wasted in that it has allowed the exposure of some important things like the total insanity and corpo-driven astroturf movement by the right, their lies have been debunked, their representatives have been exposed as liars and they’ve made it clear no matter how far back we go, they won’t support anything. Many people here, including the host, have pointed this out. Those things are incredibly important to the long term goals of progressives. It helps to marginalize the right. If it had been forced through months ago, it would have helped them to coalesce.At least that’s the theory. I understand your frustration because I’m not that far removed from it. When it looks like all the lies and distortions of the right and incompetence of the media is going to cause the effort to fail, I too start throwing my arms around and yelling and cursing. But instead of trying to convince other progressives that their leaders are failures, why not use that frustration and anger to push that leadership in the direction you want?

lol @ Blue Cross DogsAin’t that the damn truth

I agree with some of the comments re: the current state of HuffPo. I’ve grown weary of being jerked around by their headlines, which, to me, have become manipulative distortions of what’s actually going on. Politics aside, that’s the kind of crap (albeit to a higher degree) that Glenn Beck trades in. And, likewise, this does not apply the Bob’s editorials. I always read those.I’ve been tempted to throw my lot in with the crowd that is vociferously criticizing Obama at this point, and I’ve also been tempted by the opposite arguments that are trying to analyze the recent developments and have postulated an overreaching strategy. I am currently more swayed by the latter choice, but I think it is the stance of fools alone to state that you are absolutely certain that ‘this’ is what is going down at this point in time.

Remember when Caribou Barbie mocked Obama for being a “community organizer?” Bad move. While I am not totally convinced that everything that’s been going on has been planned, I think that we seem to forget that Obama’s leadership style is not Bush’s – he doesn’t want to force from the top down, he wants to lead us from the bottom up. He’s made the left mad enough to spring into action – I don’t think that’s an accident.

NY TIMES — Obama going on conservative talk radio.Obama — enough with the talky talk with the conservatives!August 19, 2009, 10:50 AMObama to Talk Health Care With Conservative Radio HostBy BERNIE BECKERPresident Obama will sit down with conservative radio host Michael Smerconish on Thursday in what will be the first radio show broadcast from the White House since Mr. Obama took office.The major topic, not surprisingly, will be health care, and the president is expected to answer questions from listeners calling into the program. Mr. Smerconish, a nationally syndicated radio host based out of Philadelphia, endorsed Mr. Obama in last year’s election.

@Terri: You realize this isn’t a dictatorship or a monarchy, right? That President Obama is not the sole member of the government and can just have whatever he wants whenever he wants it? You are aware of this, yes?

This quote from the HuffPo article is the most laughable: “He also has the benefit of an overwhelming majority in the House and a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.” Ah, yes. That magical Dem majority. They are sooo very in sync and just waiting with baited breath to do whatever the President tells them.

@camel54: not even a decade and a half. try 60+ years.I don’t know how much of this is strategy and how much is chance, etc. I have no problem with the president screwing up, as I don’t expect him to be perfect. I will say, I’m not sure what he can do. He’s held how many prime time press conferences, written an op-ed, held town halls, set up websites…they’re Twittering, for God’s sake. But at the end of the day, he has to do what the public wants. And by that I mean, what the perception through the media is, because that dominates despite what we know to be true. And if conservatives are saying we don’t want reform, and liberals are saying your plan sucks so we don’t want it either–where do you think that leaves us?

@J- There is no sense in reasoning with Terri. She is complete gloom and doom. She is negative.We all know that’s what one of the drawbacks of the Democratic party. It’s varying interests and wants. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing.We are not lockstep like the Republicans are. No matter how crazy the message coming out of their camp seems, they are all stuck on stupid and will swim towards a sinking ship.But I am still proud to be liberal.

Terri.. he is going on with Smerconish to win people not the rethuglican members of congress.. good grief..How better to get his message across to the people in PA.. who are listening to FOX.. Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Joke of the Morning.. than to go on Conservative Talk Radio and speak straight to them… it may not work with all of them.. but if it even changes ONE person’s mind and they in turn talk to someone else and they talk to someone else.. it works.. isn’t that how it is supposed to happen..You knock on one door, and then on another… and another.. That’s called ORGANIZING.

Thanks for visiting DaBomb.. come back anytime…lol However I am going out of town for a few days so things may be sparse for a few…lol

Bob,Charming little group you’ve got here.Terri

If this is true, I have to say, “Finally!” I’ve been saying for a while now that the Dems needs to totally circumvent the GOP and get it done without bipartisanship since the GOP has shown from Mr. Obama’s first day in office they wioll not cooperate. What the hell good is a majority if you won’t use it when it needs to be used?This is such great news! But I’m only gonna partially hold my breath on it. lol

Terri: Which public offices have you either run for or held. You’re so critical of the process, so sure that Obama is screwing up — why don’t you jump into the public arena and effect “real” change?

Yeaaaaah! We’re gettin’ there

@ stacibThe State Senate — NJ

Terri: And how did that election turn out for you? Were you able to convince the majority of the voting populace to elect you because you had the best plan? If not, why do you suppose you lost? BTW — no snark here — really want to know. I see so many folks that are so critical, yet most of them wouldn’t get off their butt to save their own life unless it was convenient.