Why didn't President Obama urge Americans to call washington to get a public option?

[leeroysphitz]

Just curious.

[MineralMan]

1. Perhaps because there was no fiscal crisis at that time.

Your guess is as good as mine. However, that's over. There are new issues now.

[unapatriciated]

61. that's a terrible answer...

during his speech I was wondering why he hadn't used that as his strategy all along to get things done and to keep his base mobilized

[bahrbearian]

64. LOL, your fuuny!

[Leopolds Ghost]

74. WRONGGG! The Public Option was sham from get-go, as politicians openly admitted in policy journals.

The MITT ROMNEY Health Care Bill which Obama adopted based on Romney's Massachusetts plan was written and crafted by Newt Gingrich and the Insurance Lobby. They deliberately inserted the public option in the plan with the goal of removing it at a later date, knowing that it was utterly unworkable since it basically was designed to be only available to people who refused to purchase a private (non-cost controlled) plan under penalty of fines. The fines levied on these people would pay for the public option, however the same money was budgeted to pay Insurance giants for the cost of the other changes.

Obama's White House themselves called the Insurance Lobby before the health care bill passed and assured them that the public option was a feint.

But let's forget about all that now. SLEEP, Mineral Man... SLEEP NOW

[Divernan]

78. Classic Obama super supporter response.

When progressives worry about what Obama might do on a given issue, you spout, "Well he hasn't done it YET, has he? You are all getting hysterical over NOTHING. You must wait to see what ACTUALLY happens before you dare to criticize Dear Leader".

Then 1 minute after Obama does take the greatly feared action, and screws progressives and breaks his campaign promises yet AGAIN, you're on line with "Hey, that's over! There are new issues now."

[leeroysphitz]

80. Right! We've been told to do entirely TOO much "moving on"...

I don't want to just move on I want health insurance.

[joeybee12]

2. Rhethorical question, right? I think we all know the answer...knr

[dgibby]

3. You owe me a new keyboard and a cup of coffee! n/t

[mmonk]

4. Not his ideology apparently.

Sometimes, the simplest answers could be the right ones.

[leeroysphitz]

22. Apparently. n/t

[Windy]

5. because he knew it would NEVER pass with the rethugs and Blue dogs!

The Blue Dogs fought the Affordable Health Care Act!

WE NEVER HAD A MAJORITY!!!

[Proles]

40. Would it have been possible for

President Obama to have threatened the Blue Dogs? Basically saying he would put opposing candidates against them during the next election?

It seems to me that Obama could have pushed for Democratic solidarity... but that's just me.

A single payer was probably unrealistic, yes, but I've always felt the public option was the centrist (true compromise) option, and that our current incarnation was more of a rightist stance.

Not complaining about our current health care bill, but it seems to be the repugs deliberately tried to muddy the bill and make it convuluted so that they could throw punches at in the future.

[leeroysphitz]

81. the "Affordable" Health Care Act.

The name of the P.O.S. law would be laughable if it weren't so Orwellian. Health care rates are going up 25% a year and in a little over two years we will be legally obliged to pay for it and NOTHING in that bill does anything to lower those rates.

We will all be forced to buy insurance that we can't afford to use.

[jeff47]

6. Because Rham's a moron

His strategy was to let Congress do all of health care reform and keep the WH out of it. That collapsed and Pelosi got the job done while the WH cowered under the bed.

[DURHAM D]

9. The WH let Pelosi do the work while he secretly gave away the farm.

Drug companies and insurance companies got protection by WH but the WH didn't tell Nancy and Harry what they had done.

[Fire1]

20. Exactly. n/t

[tsuki]

7. Because he didn't want one. He had signed that away before he took

office.

[banned from Kos]

8. PO never had the votes - there are Dem whips too, you know?

and pols don't listen to phone calls - staffers just pretend to.

[jeff47]

11. One doesn't have to actually _have_ the votes to call for something.

In fact, one could argue that fighting for a PO might have produced more votes for a PO.

But the WH was busy cowering in fear of the entire health care reform bill.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Exactly. As I said then, and still, you don't "count" the votes -

you CREATE the votes. LBJ didn't count the votes for the Voting Rights Act - he waded in there that got the votes he wanted. He prodded, bribed, threatened and browbeat the recalcitrant until he had enough. (By 'bribed' I mean, of course, offered support for prime government contracts to the representatives districts, or threatened the withholding of the same, not cash under the table type bribery).

There are ways an executive can pressure a congressman or senator IF he chooses to do it.

And, as you said, the executive support of a position can give a congresscritter cover for backing it. Particularly one who is as good a speaker as Obama, who can make a clear and concise case directly to the people. IF he wants to.

[leeroysphitz]

21. IF he CHOOSES to. n/t

[ProSense]

10. Obama’s Political Operation Pressuring Congress To Back Public Option

Obama’s Political Operation Pressuring Congress To Back Public Option

Obama's Speech To Congress: The Public Option

Now if only Congress had listened.

[jsamuel]

12. That was not the question.

[ProSense]

17. Obama

made the case directly to a Democratic controlled Congress in front of the American people, and OFA made calls.

Still, maybe he didn't want one is the right answer!

[girl gone mad]

69. Was that before or after..

he made his http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/health/policy/13health.html">secret deal with lobbyists to kill the public option?

[jeff47]

13. Ah yes, gotta give it the ol' college try

OFA and the WH wanted pressure to get a health care bill, any bill, passed...once Pelosi did their job for them.

The fact that there was a PO was irrelevant - in fact they still pushed for the bill once the PO was stripped.

[Lorien]

75. They pushed for it much harder once the PO was stripped. Nt

[Bluenorthwest]

15. Non responsive

The Palin method: don't like the question, answer another one instead.

[ProSense]

18. So

"The Palin method: don't like the question, answer another one instead."

...if my comment is the "Palin method," is implying that the President secretly didn't want a pulbic option the "Rove method"?

[RaleighNCDUer]

62. And here, in the words of a former radio commentator, is the rest of the story.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/73275-obama-public-option-not-the-most-important-part-of-healthcare-bill

Sending strongly worded emails to congresscritters is NOT pressure.

The PO was the ONLY thing that made mandated insurance palatable, and he believed it was 'not the most important thing'. If the health insurance industry is the fundamental problem, it sure as hell IS the most important thing.

And the question was, why didn't he tell the people to fight for it, to call their representatives - have THEM apply pressure.

If I had to wager a guess I'd say he got a LOT of insurance company donations.

[NorthCarolina]

14. Because it was never really on the table. The cherry on the top

that they really wanted to accomplish above all else was a public mandate for private insurance. They got that.

[modestybl]

19. Because Obama had already made a deal...

... with the insurance companies and hospital groups that a public option would not happen, and rather than wrap things up quickly, he allowed debate to go on, and give his followers false hope, for months. Lost all illusions about this guy.

[KeepItReal]

66. +1

Precisely

Unfortunately

[JoePhilly]

23. You need some one to tell you when to use the phone?

Kind of silly.

[Forkboy]

29. Then it was equally silly of Obama to ask people the other night.

Why would he do such a silly thing, treating people like they're silly? That's just silly.

Funny, I didn't see any posts from you the other night telling Obama supporters they were silly when Obama asked people to call and they agreed. Selective outrage on your part, or just hypocrisy?

My hunch is both.

[JoePhilly]

35. I'm not outraged at all.

And what I find "silly", is not that he made the request, but that any time Obama does something positive, it is almost immediately denigrated.

As occurred in this OP.

[Forkboy]

48. Then why didn't you say that instead?

You're backpeddling, Joe. You said it was silly to have to be told to call, not that it was silly that someone is being denigrated.

[leeroysphitz]

33. Why has the President been urging all Americans to call Washington this week?

I mean if it's so silly and all...

[ecstatic]

37. You're lying

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/02/nation/na-obama-health2

[JoePhilly]

39. +100, its because they start with the "Obama Bad" meme first

[EFerrari]

45. No, you're comparing apples and grenades. n/t

[ecstatic]

49. "Obama urges public to demand health care reform"

How does one demand HCR? By writing, calling, showing up to town halls, etc. And what do you say, well, if it's the PO you want, ask for that. If it's something else you're looking for, suggest that. It's not rocket science people.

[EFerrari]

52. Speaking at a community college is not the same gesture

as speaking to the nation on television. It's not rocket science, people.

[ecstatic]

55. Edit: Can you prove that he didn't mention it in a prime time speech?

This was 2 years ago.

[Prism]

24. His presidency wasn't at stake at the time.

Now, I'm thinking President Obama finally realizes that the Republican party will risk economic armageddon to finish him off in 2012.

But hey, nice that he remembered the people who voted for him! It may be too little, too late. Sad it had to come this far before he went "Oh . . . shit. They're crazy!"

Yes, Mr. President. We tried to explain this to you way back in February '09 during the stimulus battle. Thanks for being such a quick study. Harvard, huh? Yeah.

[leeroysphitz]

25. No? n/t

[Prism]

No, too early in his term.

Generally, people won't hold something against a politician 2-3 years after the fact. Health care "reform" won't be a thought in anyone's mind come Nov. 2012. It's our lack of national attention span. Hell, I'm so pissed off about the economy, I've forgotten entirely how pissed off I was about the health care fiasco.

This is why politicians like to push through big, more ideological initiatives early on. That way, if it goes to shit (Like Clinton's health care reform or DADT attempt), there's ample time to recover and move to the center for the re-election campaign.

[ecstatic]

51. Ha! Right here on DU people were saying he was a failure before 2 years

were even served.

[Prism]

60. The President isn't worried about the people here on DU

He's worried about the average voter with the short attention span. This debt crisis and economic turbulence are close enough to the 2012 election to be a threat.

I don't think President Obama is a failure. I think he's simply a mediocre president. He's kind of a James Buchanan figure before the hell of the Civil War. After Obama leaves office, things will get much, much, much worse and the President will have shown he suffered from two tragic circumstances, one external and one internal. Externally, the country is too polarized and the economy too damaged to be brought back from the brink at this point. This is not President Obama's fault. However, the President thinks the executive can be run like community organizing. It cannot, and he is not strong enough in the Lincolnian sense to do the hard political tasks to redirect this runaway train. This is entirely his fault. I suspect by 2020 there will be some kind of economic and governmental reckoning. Perhaps sooner.

And Obama's political epitaph will read much like Buchanan's. "Poor Old Buck. He meant well."

[ecstatic]

26. If people wanted the PO, wouldn't they have called on their own

without needing the President to tell them to? :shrug:

[leeroysphitz]

28. So people don't want the debt ceiling raised? Why else would the Pres need to urge them?

Doesn't ad up...

[ecstatic]

32. They were urged to call about health care too nt

[leeroysphitz]

36. Link? Bear in mind the op is concerns the Public Option.

[amborin]

46. people absolutely DID want a Public Option:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1340190&mesg_id=1340190

[ecstatic]

57. Then they should have demanded it nt

[amborin]

63. they elected Obama b/c he ran on that campaign promise; broken, big time

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Forkboy]

30. It's "silly" to have be told to call.

[alsame]

31. He got the bill he wanted. nt

[ecstatic]

34. Here you go

Not sure if you're simply lying or just misinformed.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/02/nation/na-obama-health2

[leeroysphitz]

38. Nice try.

See post 36.

[JoePhilly]

41. Sounds the same to me.

[leeroysphitz]

42. To you.

What color is the sky in your world?

[JoePhilly]

47. In both cases he urged the American people to call their

congressional leaders urging them to find a compromise position.

And in neither case did he detail narrow specifics.

He said call then, just like he did now.

You were wrong.

Rather then see Obama's effort today as a positive thing, you tried to use it to denigrate him.

And in the sky I see, the clouds aren't all dark, with an even darker lining. Which seems to be what you see.

[ecstatic]

43. omg. Urged people to get involved meaning--if it's the PO

you want, demand it. If it's Universal you want, demand it. Etc. Just admit your latest attempt to smear Obama was wrong and apologize. Then ask for the OP to be locked. That's if you care about your credibility at all...

[Dawgs]

50. Uh, no. The OP is correct. You are desperate. n/t

[ecstatic]

53. no, you and the other "blame Obama first" people are nt

[Bluebear]

70. Nailed it.

[leeroysphitz]

54. You're grasping.

Stopt it. You're embarassing yourself.

[ecstatic]

56. How so? Your OP is a lie. Just admit it and move on

And in addition to the town halls where he urged people to get involved, he very likely said it in a prime time speech as well... but I don't have time to do your homework for you. All you'll do is pick up with another lie once this one is fully debunked.

[leeroysphitz]

59. The words "public option" don't even appear in the article you posted. Pathetic.

Duplicitous. Embarassing, for you.

[Bluebear]

71. Pathetic.

[amborin]

44. b/c he didn't want one; it would hurt insurance companies' record profits, esp w/ the mandate

[Lorien]

76. The simple answer is often the best one. Nt

[spin]

58. Why didn't the Democrats we elected to represent us in Congress vote for a public option?

Probably for the same reason Obama didn't push it.

[D23MIURG23]

65. Because he wasn't in favor of one. n/t

[Raine]

67. Because Obama NEVER wanted or intended to have a public option nt

[Bluebear]

79. Correct. He lied.

[B Calm]

68. He's just another Lieberman. . .

[Bluebear]

72. Becasue he had already made a backroom deal with big insurance and pharma. nt

[LooseWilly]

73. Because the public option wouldn't benefit the rich...

but the mandate was big bucks so he snapped up Hillary's idea on that subject...

[slipslidingaway]

77. knr nt

[blindpig]

82. I love rhetorical questions.

The priorities are obvious.