Obama Sells Reform "As Seen on TV"
By February 25, the District's ice may have thawed--but the same can't be said of tensions over health care reform. In a pre-game interview during yesterday's Super Bowl, the President told a captive audience that he was setting aside that Thursday for a "large meeting" with both parties to overcome what he called a "blizzard" of political opposition. "What I have been doing," the President told Katie Couric, "is consulting closely with the leaders in the House, the leaders in the Senate on the Democratic side, and I want to consult closely with our Republican colleagues... What I want to do is to ask them to put their ideas on the table."
Funny, the President didn't seem this eager to "consult" with Republicans last year. Instead, he blocked them from health care meetings, ignored their suggestions, and then painted them as obstructionists. Now that the President's plan is in jeopardy, the White House has no choice but to include the GOP. And, unlike the actual negotiations that took place in December behind closed doors, this event will be televised live. Naturally, the Republicans' biggest concern is the President will use the opportunity to say he listened to the other side--only to ignore their ideas once the cameras stop rolling. In the meantime, Republicans should follow Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) lead in saying they need to scrap the unpopular bills passed by both chambers and start afresh. "There are a number of issues with bipartisan support that we can start with when the 2,700-page bill is put on the shelf."
Fortunately, leaders won't have to look far for common ground. No other amendment had as much bipartisan support as Rep. Bart Stupak's (D-Mich.) amendment to ban taxpayer-funded abortion from government health care. By overwhelming margins, both Democrats and Republicans went to the mat to defend taxpayers from being forced into the bloody business of abortion. If leaders don't agree to take abortion off the table, there can be no bipartisanship--not on February 25's telecast and certainly not in a final bill.
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