NYT: Obama to Convene Televised Summit on Health Care on February 25th

[flpoljunkie]

February 8, 2010
Obama to Convene Summit on Health Care

By JEFF ZELENY

President Obama said Sunday that he will convene a half-day, bipartisan health care summit at the White House on Feb. 25 to be broadcast on television, so Americans can see Democrats and Republicans try to break the deadlock on health care legislation.

The president made the announcement in an interview on CBS during the Super Bowl pre-game show. The meeting would mark the first time in the long health care debate that leaders from both sides would be allowed to air their ideas publicly and see if they can find agreement.

Mr. Obama did not say what he was willing to give up in the negotiations or chart a specific legislative strategy for moving a bill through Congress.

“If we can go step by step through a series of these issues and arrive at some agreements, there’s no reason we can’t do this faster than it took last year,” Mr. Obama said in an interview on Sunday afternoon from the White House Library.

He added that he would not be supportive of starting the health care debate from the beginning, but rather would try to work from the existing proposals that passed the House and Senate to find agreement. It remained an open question whether this would be possible, given the hardened views of Democrats and Republicans alike.

But the bipartisan health care meeting on Feb. 25 is the latest example of how the White House is attempting to draw in the opposition party and highlight their ideas in the midterm election year, hoping that the Democratic proposals look better when compared to the Republican ideas.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/us/politics/08webobama.html?hp

[SpiralHawk]

1. "No no no no no no no." - Republicon Homelanders for Corporate Welfare

"Nothing must happen. We must not resolve this mess, or American will not FAIL as we Republicons want.. We must not disrupt the vast flow of national wealth into the hands of private insurance companies and so-called health care corporations which so generously feather our republicon nests. Nothing must happen. No, no, no, no, no no no no no no."

- Republicon Homelanders for Corporate Welfare

[applegrove]

27. You have to hope that the Repubs keep it up so they can be labeled

as the party of no during the midterms. I'd rather see HCR pass. But I'd take a no no no no no Repuke moment if not.

[gateley]

2. When I first read about this, I didn't dare hope it would be televised -

this is GREAT!

Wonder if they'll take him up on it.

[flpoljunkie]

4. They have accepted his invitation according to this AP article.

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio included a few jabs at Democrats while accepting Obama's invitation.

Boehner said he was glad the White House "finally seems interested in a real, bipartisan conversation on health care." He said Americans have rejected "the job-killing, trillion-dollar government takeover of health care bills passed by the House and Senate."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was hopeful "that the Republican leadership will work in a bipartisan fashion on the great challenges the American people face."

White House officials said Sunday that Obama does not intend to restart the health care legislative process from scratch. Many liberal groups and lawmakers want congressional Democrats to use all the parliamentary muscle they have to enact the measure that the Senate passed on Christmas Eve, employing rules that could bypass GOP filibusters to make changes demanded by House Democrats.

The White House has not ruled out such a strategy. But Obama's recent talk of inviting Republican input and extending the debate for several weeks has caused uncertainty about his plans.

The president told Democratic donors last week that he wanted to "have a meeting whereby I'm sitting with the Republicans, sitting with the Democrats, sitting with health care experts, and let's just go through these bills, their ideas, our ideas, let's walk through them in a methodical way so that the American people can see and compare what makes the most sense."

A White House statement Sunday said Obama repeatedly has made it clear "that he's adamant about passing comprehensive reform similar to the bills passed by the House and the Senate."

"He hopes to have Republican support in doing so, but he is going to move forward on health reform," the statement said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/07/AR2010020702134.html

[gateley]

7. Great -- thanks!! nt

[blm]

3. Republicans will NOT be happy about being SEEN siding with corporate insurances' death panels

over the working class people and the healthcare of their families.

[quiet.american]

5. The GOP wanted to lie/whine about proceedings not being on C-Span -- well, put up or shut up.

Looking forward to them being exposed in all their inglorious hypocrisy. Most of the stuff they whined about as not being in the healthcare reform bills is in already in there, and they still voted against it. Now, they'll also be forced to hem and haw and outright refuse to support the very things that are also in the bill that the 39-page "better solutions" stage prop they handed to Obama claims they really, really, really want.

This is going to be interesting.

[impik]

6. I think it's brilliant. I doubt they'll even show up

[saracat]

8. I would much rather see the WH meetings with Billy Tauzin.

or the real negotiating on HCR between the house and senate.that would be real trasnsparency. This is just a waste of time and airtime. No one seriously beleives this is going to influence anyone's opinion about either side, do they?

[FrenchieCat]

9. Wow!

Got rope?

[saracat]

14. WOW! Yourself.This is a pointless exercise.We aren't going to change anyone's mind

The GOP can't look any worse than they do and they already look bad.The real danger, as it occurs to me, might be in how much compromising away of values that the Democrats are seen to do.This faux bipartisanship hasn't been playing well with anyone. Bipartisanship has to go both ways and the GOP don't give an inch. The WH needs to LEAD, not negotiate.

[saracat]

15. So I guess you think we shouldn't see the biweekly meetings that Tauzin had at the WH?

Don't you want to know? Or the real HCR negotiations that were to technically challenging for them to provide video? Why don't you want to know? It is our tax dollars they are spending and our health care they are negotiating! All of these guys, includong the president are nothing more than our employees, and i think we have the right to supervise them on the job.

[Jennicut]

10. To show the Rethugs are nothing but disgusting obstructionists who want people to die.

Obama may not be your cup of tea and he is hardly perfect but the Rethugs should be stopped from getting the upper hand at all times, especially with the public. Killing the Dems in the midterms could set them up for 2012. Personally, I think of the Supreme Court getting more stacked. I think of abortion getting more infringed upon. I think of tax cuts to the wealthiest in America. It really is that simple. Even if it is two evils for you, one is ALWAYS worse. Always.

[saracat]

12. Who doesn't know the GOP are obstructionists? The GOP themselves know what they are and we know what

they are? Whose mind would we be changing? Who would we be educating with this? The GOP will look terrible. they already look terrible.So what? I and most other Democrats and liberals will never vote for them and they will never vote for the Democrats or any liberals. The divide is just getting deeper? The fauz bipartisanship doesn't work and it doesn't prove anything to anyone.JMHO.

[Jennicut]

13. Yes, we know but we are political junkies. There are a lot more people

out there who just here things word of mouth. The indies go back and forth and need a story basically spelled out to them.

[saracat]

18. Most of the indies are disappointed dems and repugs. Did you know that in many states the switch

Dems to Indie is great than the Gop switch to Indie? Both parties have lost voter registration but the Dems have lost slightly more than the GOP. The Indies have made hyge gains. Most of the Indies are disappointed Dems and Republicans .many are just as politcally informed as many on this board, and many were politcal activists.
Most of the Indies do not go back and forth and it is patronizing to assume that because someone has a letter D after their name that they are better informed than an Indie. They do not need a "story spelled out for them" anymore than any other voter. It is that kind of lack of respect that doesn't allow us to reach them and is the reason they became Indies to begin with.

[Jennicut]

22. I was an independent for 10 years. And I did not get more informed until

2004, when I could not stand Bush anymore. I was a moderate indie before that and voted for Dems and Repubs. So sometimes, indies are just that, indies. I made the switch in 2004 and never voted for a Rethug, even a moderate one again. Didn't vote for Lieberman in 2006. I think DU made me MORE liberal, which is a good thing.

[saracat]

23. I think Bush contributed to the rise in Indies.The old indies, such as you

were, are what I used to think Indies were. Until recently, the Dems in my state operated on the erroneous assumption that Indies leaned Dem. this isn't really the case.I discovered that in a big way when campaigning for my husband.I met many Indies who claimed to be to the "right" of Limbaugh, including my next door neighbor who is married to a pro choice GOP schoolteacher who ought to be a Dem and who supported my husband. I have several "new Indie " friends who used to be democratic candidates and think the party has become to right and they consider themselves more liberal. All these folks are very well informed and typical of the Indies of today, at least in my experience and from what I have read as well. BTW, I am a lifelong Dem and My husband used to be an Indie so a lot of this isn't new territory for me!:)

[Jennicut]

25. Yeah, I was just the boring old moderate who thought John McCain was an okay guy.

Boy, was I stupid. I did vote for Clinton (1996, I was only 20) and Gore in 2000. But I voted Repub for Gov. I think Bush messed up just enough to make people like me wake up. I always leaned more to the Dems but became fully comitted by 2004 and after Kerry lost that was it. I found DU and never looked back.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

32. You are woefully ignorant if you think --

that it's just the GOP who want HCR to tank. Many, many in our own tent want teh very same thing, don't kid yourself.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

31. Those pharma meetings sure would --

have been interesting, indeed.

[brand404]

11. It's a shame no one will bring up Public Option or the dreaded Single Payer. nt

[DrToast]

16. So its safe to assume that there aren't votes for HCR right now?

What a joke. The Dems are going to get absolutely killed this year if they blow this.

[harun]

28. Senate and House won't budge. So yes, deadlock right now.

I can't say I am optimistic. Senate is really destroying us here. Their bill was atrocious and they won't give an inch on it. House bill was good.

[Armstead]

17. He ought to INVITE SINGLE PAYER ADVOCATES TOO

[saracat]

19. That will never happen because that is the solution and it is an idea that

he doesn't want heard.

[Armstead]

26. Bernie Sanders ought to show up and let 'em have it

He's a Senator. It'd be hard to keep him out of the room.

[Clio the Leo]

20. Whoohoo! A whole half day of incumbents trying to sound bite their way onto the 6 o'clock news....

.... you all dont SERIOUSLY think anything is going to be accomplished on this do you? If we're lucky, we'll get another Obama v. House GOP session, but we're much more likely to get another Obama v. Senate Dems snooze fest.

Now, I'm not saying it's a bad idea, perhaps an excellent idea to force the GOP to put up or shut up in front of the American people ... but that's the problem with "putting health care negotiations on CSPAN." It will just be a play for the cameras and no actual negotiations will go on.

[Colobo]

21. It's time for the GOP to put up or shut up.

[jenmito]

24. "...he would not be supportive of starting the health care debate from the beginning,..." There ya

go! Now we KNOW the Repubs. are going to refuse ANYTHING-even things they claim they WANT-like buying across state lines, some sort of tort reform, etc. And they're going to look like fools (again-like they looked last Friday). Then the Dems. will pass the Senate bill with a "sidecar patch" with no Repubs., AND with more support from the public due to the transparency. :thumbsup:

[vegiegals]

30. The "beginning" would mean to invite single payers to the tables.

[quantass]

29. Always with the DOG AND PONY SHOW instead of getting things done. Political cover at its finest.

[NYC Liberal]

33. Um, "getting things done" doesn't just happen with a snap of the fingers

People need to be persuaded. Would it be better if this was done behind closed doors, since televising it for "the rest of us" seems to be, in your words, "political cover."

[BlueIdaho]

34. When the republicans don't show up -- and they won't...

Set out empty chairs with their names on them. Then get tough with weak kneed democrats - grill them in front of the cameras. Turn up the heat. It is always in Congress' best interest to do nothing - that's how they survive. Its important to make doing nothing a political liability.

This will also improve the President's approval ratings and believe it or not - that is a necessary step to getting things moving again in Congress.

At this point he really has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

[ipaint]

35. Given that the majority of americans and Obama supporters

want medicare for all or the compromise of a public option and are getting neither and worse, I would say holding a televised meeting trying to appeal to the equivalent of tea baggers in congress yet again is going to be seen as rubbing salt in a fresh wound.

Not a very smart move considering the amount of capitulation that has already been accepted by this administration and congress on our behalf.

They are completely out of touch.