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http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/conyers-derides-white-house-health-care-strategy/
Rep. John Conyers, Jr., D-MI, Chmn of the Judiciary Committee, was on the radio Thursday morning, “The Bill Press Show,” doing some venting about Obama’s leadership, or rather, lack of leadership re health care reform (reported by Katharine Q. Sellye):
"I’m getting tired of saving Obama’s can in the White House."
“I mean, he only won by five votes in the House, and this bill wasn’t anything to write home about. The public option is only available — which is the only way you manage cost and give some competition to 1,300 other health insurance companies — the only way he could have got that through is that progressives held their nose and voted for the plan anyway.”
Mr. Conyers complained that the idea of a single-payer system had been “taken off the table from the beginning.”
Asked if the president had shown enough leadership on health care, Conyers said, “Of course not, of course not.”
“You know, holding hands out, and beer on Friday nights in the White House, and bowing down to every nutty right-wing proposal about health care, and saying on occasion that public options aren’t all that important, is doing a disservice to the Barack Obama that I first met, who was an ardent single-payer enthusiast himself.”
Mr. Press said Democrats were saying that they feared the president would “just sign anything.” Mr. Conyers agreed, saying “that’s essentially what Rahm Emmanuel has said,” adding that he was tired of his approach of “give us anything and we will declare victory.”
“But look, the bill doesn’t go into effect for three years. Many of the people that we are trying to help will be dead by then.”
AND PELOSI UNLEASHED:
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=05081D2F-18FE-70B2-A84A53F19941FBFC
Politico’s Jonathan Allen revealed that Nancy Pelosi showed some fierce emotion, too, but in the other direction. Apparently California Democrat Xavier Becerra some time before the House Health Care Reform Bill came up for a vote dared to suggest to the Congressional Progressive Caucus that "party leaders gave up too easily on the favored ‘robust’ public option."
Pelosi was more than displeased and fired out at a subsequent leadership meeting:
“I understand I have tire tracks on my back because Xavier threw me under the bus.”
Allen adds that apparently Pelosi went on to accuse Becerra of “trying to improve his ‘street cred’ with progressives" by going after her.
Sounds like there are veal pens within the House, too.
19 Comments
Some people have the guts to speak the truth, Conyers is at least a man.
I’m a firm believer that if Obama had put the Republicans in their place from the start, and went to the American people and told them now is the time for unversal healthcare, and the time to do away with for profit care. Pointed His finger at the Republicans and told the People they are the reason we have these healthcare problems and are what’s standing between you and having cheaper, better and fairer care for all Americans, he could have cut them off at the pass.
Instead He tried Kissing their butts and found out it didn’t work, and by that told them He was a pussy and they could walk all over Him like they are doing. He gave them the advantage by letting them frame the debate, and as we saw in August they did the winning, making heathcare look like it was enemy of the people.
BYE BYE DEMS. I don’t see them saving themselves.
This was cathartic in a way to read, but then why didn’t Conyers stand up while the bill was in play and not post-game?
And hearing about Pelosi’s demand for group-think and mass betrayal of public option really riles me.
Can’t answer you on Conyers not standing up sooner.
I’m with You on Nancy, My ninty one year old Mother hardly lets a day go by without bitching about Nancy.
Because that’s the way progressives in the house always handle these situations. Identify a liberal position, then cave to the power structure and then act like it was all the other progressives who caved. Conyers is one of the best at the game. We need to apply continued pressure on PROGRESSIVES. They could form a movement, but we haven’t made them pay enough yet so they continue to talk the game and cave. We “got to separate ‘em.”
I had serious hope for that Progressive Caucus. I guess the never got a grasp on what “robust” meant, or what Nancy said robust was. Sigh. I realize dealing with the insane defiant obstructionism of the willful Repubs is crazymaking. Plain crazymaking. But if they are going to be a block, to they have to be a Blue Dog Rahm obedient block?
Why oh why is the Progressive Caucus afraid of power? If they had rejected this farce of a bill they could be standing at center stage holding up a severed head and exclaiming “NO! We are going to do this thing again and again until we get it right.” Instead they weeped and wrung their hands and voted “OK. I guess we’ll do it.” And now they look utterly inconsequential.
I’m glad Conyers is saying the right things but its a little late.
After all the incredible patience of going through the Bushco regime, and not one term but two!!! And waiting for it to end. And the joy that he was gone and things could be renewed. How cruel to discover that the progressives are STILL disenfranchised. And morality and legality and empathy not so much priorities to our leadership. Is it Dem learned helplessness or Dems are puppets for corporations. Whatever, their group think sure stinks!
But, yes, glad to hear some healthy anger.
I’m glad to hear it too. But of course, now he needs to do something.
Hey! I made a ton of phone calls. I sent in the moneys. I argued with people at work and in coffee houses and on the street. And I even went downtown and stood in the rain with about 20 others waving signs and encouraging people to “Honk for Healthcare-Medicare for All!” I must have signed 25 petitions from this site alone. And I have argued on this site for people to start thinking about “going French” and manning the barricades. Sheesh. Whaddaya want?
Nothing. You’ve done great. Keep up the good work.
Wow, GDC, you did great!
Lets was talking about Conyers, not you! :)
Agreed
Like mother like Daughter I met her daughter at the Lake I complained the Dems were giving into much to Bush.
She said something about how I knew nothing about getting things done in the House. Of course as time went on I started calling Dems Spineless and saying they lacked Stones (I’m quite proud I think I invented those Memes)
Nancy and Harry in my Opinion will be remembered in history as the weakest House and Senate leaders ever.
Nancy compromises so much I bet the GOP in private call her Free Ride. In public its important though for the GOP to have her as an enemy even if they have to prop her up first.
Yeah, and Nancy took all those historic victory laps when elected. I got freaked when Nancy and Harry gave Bush all that money for covert CIA destabilization in Iran. It was a HUGE amount of money. WTF???? Is that that terror Dems have to stand up to terror-fear mongering, or are they all enabling the military industrial complex at the trough. I keep slipping still and thinking the Dems are NOT prostituted to the corporations. Sigh.
So am I but what is he going to do about it? He has more options than I do.
On a related note:
What happened to Mr. Conyers’ inquiry into the downing street memo?
nothing. He caved.
“democracy now”
now shelved.
He shouldn’t complain too much methinks.
And who was it that assured Sibel Edmunds, long, long ago that they would see to it that her case was explored.
Yeah, stamp SECRET on it, and no one gets embarrassed or prosecuted or accused of any wrong. Accountability coma. Obama regime finds it comfortable, apparently.
I can’t believe that all but thirty something officially condemned the Goldstone report. How bipartisan and denying can you get?
It was the lying Conyers, of course. The master of talking the talk, but never walking the walk. Sibel does both.
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