60 Plus announced a new advertising campaign featuring former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. The ad which targets Congress asks people to call their Representatives and Senators and urge them to Start Over – Get Healthcare Right.
Dem leaders unite on health care strategy
Democratic congressional leaders are uniting around their last, best hope for salvaging President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care overhaul.
Their plan is to pass the Senate bill with some changes to accommodate House Democrats, senior Democratic aides said Monday. Leaders will present the idea to the rank and file this week, but it’s unclear that they will have the votes to move forward.
Last week’s victory by Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts cost Democrats the 60th vote they need to maintain undisputed control of the Senate, jeopardizing the outcome of the health care bill just when Obama had brokered a final deal on most of the major issues.
“We’ve put so much effort into this, so much hard work, and we were so close to doing some significant things. Now we have to find the political path that brings us out. And it’s not easy,” the No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said Monday.
The new strategy is as politically risky as it is bold. There is widespread support for Obama’s goals of expanding coverage to nearly all Americans while trying to slow costs. But polls show the public is deeply skeptical of the Democratic bills, and Republicans would certainly accuse Democrats of ignoring voters’ wishes.
Unconstitutional Health Care Reform?
Labor Chief: Senators “Acted Like Terrorists” on Health Care
ABC News’ David Chalian Reports: One of President Obama’s strong supporters from the Labor community sees no other choice for Democrats than to pursue a long shot strategy in a last ditch effort to save the comprehensive health care reform effort that consumed Washington for most of 2009 from defeat.
SEIU President Andy Stern also charged that the reason Senate Democrats find themselves in their current predicament on health care is because some senators (read: Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman) “acted like terrorists.”
“I think we saw in the Senate you know, death to change. And I think the Senate has huge responsibilities here. They were given a gift, particularly in the fall, by the American people of 60 votes. The ability to debate every issue and what did they do? They squandered it. And when I call them terrorists, they’re not — they’re good Americans — but they acted like terrorists and there’s a reason why America doesn’t negotiate with terrorists,” Stern told us on ABC News’ “Top Line” today.
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