President Obama meets with Blue Dogs: “Inaction is not an option”

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

After a weeklong overseas trip that pushed him to the fringes of Washington’s health care debate, President Obama moved aggressively to reclaim control. He summoned top Democrats to the White House to urge them to stick to his legislative timetable — he wants the House and the Senate to pass bills before the August recess — and appeared in the Rose Garden to cast himself as a kind of sheriff who had just come back to town. Obama Prods Lawmakers in Meeting on Health Bill – NYTimes.com

“I just want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone,” Mr. Obama said. “We are going to get this done. Inaction is not an option. And for those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don’t bet against us. We are going to make this thing happen, because the American people desperately need it.”

Obama met Monday with several members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, which has managed to slow the introduction of a House bill after raising a raft of concerns about its cost and scope. The group included two Blue Dog leaders, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) and Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), and two members, Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah). Obama steps up health care push

Hopefully "Sheriff" Obama finally used obedience training on these Blue Dogs to teach them some party discipline. Maybe he has learned a trick or two in disciplining his dog Bo during obedience training. What good is having a super-majority in both chambers of Congress if you can't put it to good use to enact your agenda? You never see Republicans have a problem with party discipline.

The Washington Post today tried to draw a comparison between President Obama and President Lyndon Johnson. On Health-Care Reform, Obama Looks to Johnson's Model Oh, please. Obama may have adopted LBJ's strategy for Medicare, but he has demonstrated no inclination towards or particular skill in employing LBJ's tactics to get legislation enacted. Obama needs to learn to "lean on" (literally) recalcitrant legislators the way that LBJ did. A little "old school" politics might be just what the doctor ordered to get health care reform enacted.

The president also met for more than an hour with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mt.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). Obama steps up health care push

In both meetings, Obama emphasized the long-term deficit consequences if health care is not dealt with this year, and to the Blue Dogs, he emphasized the savings that could come beyond the 10-year budget window, a White House aide said.

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In the leadership meeting, Obama told the group that he would help Hoyer deliver the Blue Dog members, according to the industry insider. More meetings with rank-and-file members are expected.

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“There was the strongest commitment I have yet seen, which I deeply appreciate, that we are all going to work together to get this passed,” Baucus said. "I get the sense that the urgency barometer is going up."

Obama told the committee's chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, on Monday at the White House he wants legislation by week's end, officials reported. The president did not say whether he prefers a bipartisan bill, which Baucus has been trying to piece together with Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, or a bill tailored more to Democratic specifications. House health plan to boost taxes on rich

House Democrats readied legislation Tuesday that imposes penalties on employers who fail to provide health insurance for their workers and on individuals who refuse to buy it, part of a sweeping effort to overhaul the nation's health care system.

The bill, to be debated in committee beginning later this week, would require insurance companies to offer coverage, without exceptions or higher premiums in cases of pre-existing medical conditions. It also would allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private firms, a provision that has sparked objections from Republicans and some Democrats.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other key Democrats arranged to unveil the legislation at an afternoon news conference.

In all, the draft House bill runs more than 1,000 pages, and is designed to fulfill Obama's call for legislation that will extend coverage to millions who lack it, as well as begin to slow the rate of growth in health care generally.

The House Ways and Means Committee announced it would vote on the proposal beginning on Thursday.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee moved toward passage of its version of the bill on what is expected to be a party-line vote. (Explain to me why Democrats have to kiss Chuck Grassley's ass if he can't, or won't deliver any votes? If he has nothing to offer, cut him out.)

Obama's legislative timetable is for Congress to pass legislation through both houses before lawmakers leave the Capitol on August Recess.