Often, especially in a crisis, it isn’t a question of getting it right, it’s a question of getting it done. The congressional health care drama that has played out since early last year has taken its toll. The law passed but the nation is at risk.
The formation of the Tea Party Movement, the tumultuous town hall meetings and the firebrand blogs all were signs that there was pressure building that would need to be addressed. After the red hot meetings with constituents wrapped up in the fall, Congress closed down the legislative process with Democrats separating from the herd and retreating behind closed doors too work on the House and Senate bills.
What happened to the chief executive’s campaign promise that the health care debate would be broadcast on C-span? Not only did it not happen, the congressional in-fighting would have qualified for Monday night RAW. The frustration and the broken promises just told men and women of intelligence that whatever the outcome, there would be a political price to pay – and even a public safety one as well. The public safety component is currently playing itself out in threats and vandalism by unknown groups or individuals against both those who voted for and those who voted against the health care bills as they morphed into law.
Ever behind the scenes financing and organizing an effort to push this legislation on down the road was Organizing for America, the former Organizing for Obama from campaign 2008. After the Massachusetts debacle, Obama call back David Pouffle to again head up and tighten up the organization both for the sake of his image and for the passage of health care. But today, amid the growing number of threats of harm to congressmen and women, OFA dispatched another of its timely electronic mailings – or so they thought. Like the building permit that hit the news the day Biden arrived in Israel, this letter and its message has landed in the news as well as in the mailboxes of the faithful. The letter sent out under Mitch Stewart’s name read in part:
We knew that power concedes nothing. So did President Obama. So did the members of Congress who courageously voted for reform, knowing that the special interests and the extreme right wing would retaliate swiftly.
The attacks are fierce. Deceptive ads are hitting the airwaves in swing districts. GOP lawmakers are pushing to repeal reform — and preventing the Senate from performing basic functions. A few Republican attorneys general have launched a baseless attack to overturn the legislation. But that’s not even the worst of it.
A conservative blogger posted the home address of Congressman Tom Perriello, urging tea partiers to “drop by.” Other members have had death threats. Democratic offices have been vandalized.
OFA has always been right there in your face with remarkable skill at financing and putting together programs to get things done for either Barack Obama or his agenda. At a time when not all the facts are in about just who is behind some of this violence, the President’s own unofficial organization is right there in your face again only this time making unfounded accusations. This organization is now under the wing of the Democratic Party but correspondence is issued by them that comes directly from the President minus the seal of office. This is hitting hard.
Having Republicans on TV for a discussion of the violence and then asking “do yu approve of that” ? is not the greatest form of news gathering ever created. Republicans and Conservatives and Independents need to get out there on the offensive and ahead of the events and the official description of them. To allow themselves to sit in a chair and answer questions is not going to get on top of this. Barack Obama has spent the past month being tough on colleagues, tough on the Israelis and now tough on specific groups. This is libelous. Where is the outrage?
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dancingczars
March 25, 2010
The “law” may have been signed by Obama, we take the House, we will not fund it. It still needs to go through a long process of reconciliation in the senate. If any changes are made and doubtless there will be, the back to the house for another vote. The lemmings may have lost a bit of jueveos when the had to deal with their constituents.
One thing certain to change the bill, they just found out that uninsured children with preexisting illness or disease or not covered. HHSS K.B. is trying to change that, thus it goes back through the process. I’ve been unable to find anybody that can show me Obama’s signature has the force of law. I believe it to be an overblown play to appeal to the liberal base, when the bill hasn’t gone through the processes, Jim
samhenry
March 25, 2010
Good assessment, Jim. More news tonight on it.
LisaInTX
March 25, 2010
I find it amazing how they have flat out stolen the republican campaign term “healthcare Reform” and made their own….did anyone else catch that?
They are masters of deception of terminology—-just out right LIARS and Unethical to the extreme.
samhenry
March 26, 2010
No. I did not know this. You should write a post about this.