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March 03, 2010
Obama Eyes Easter Deadline For Obamacare
Obama eyes Easter deadline for health reform
Easter is turning into the new Christmas for Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform. Late last year senators worked round-the-clock until Christmas eve to pass the $871bn 10-year bill before the president’s Yuletide deadline. But things went sour for the final stages of the bill when the Democrats lost their controlling Senate super-majority in January.
Now almost every Democrat is working on the assumption that the bill must be passed by March 26 – the start of the Easter recess in the House of Representatives. Failure to do so would risk a re-run of last August’s “town hall” rebellion against healthcare that almost sunk its prospects.
Many believe a repeat of that saga over Easter would be fatal.
“There’s a sense of urgency among Democrats that the healthcare bill has to be completed before the end of this month,” says Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate leader and Mr Obama’s original Washington mentor.
“I share the view that if this goes into the Easter recess, it could face very familiar problems.”
Non-partisan analysts agree. “Democrats don’t want to go back to their districts without healthcare in their pocket because they would face another onslaught from the Tea Party Movement,” says Bill Schneider at the Third Way centrist think-tank. “Furthermore, if Democrats had to stretch healthcare into April and May they would be eating into the calendar in a year that was supposed to be all about jobs.”
Nobody is more aware of the rapidly vanishing hourglass than Mr Obama, who will on Wednesday give a speech setting out the way forward for what he ardently hopes will be the home stretch for healthcare reform. White House officials say Mr Obama is unlikely to set a hard and fast deadline. The president has done so before without success.
But few doubt that the president, who may on Wednesday announce that he is borrowing one or two Republican ideas from last week’s bipartisan healthcare summit , will be straining every sinew to stave off a nightmare Easter recess. “We have finally reached the crunch time,” said a senior Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill. “It’s a cliché but it really is now or never.”
Most Democrats are under no illusions that enactment of healthcare reform before Easter would dramatically improve their dire-looking prospects in this November’s midterm congressional elections. According to polls, opponents of healthcare reform have what pollsters call “intensity” on their side. Most polls show that 35 per cent to 40 per cent of those opposed to the reform do so “very strongly”, whereas only a quarter of those in favour do so strongly.
Polls also show that Mr Obama would be punished even more if he failed to get healthcare reform through. “Most Americans believe politics is the enemy of problem-solving,” says Mr Schneider. “The president has to be able to show he can get things done.”
On Wednesday Mr Obama will outline the path ahead. By Easter it should be clear whether his presidency can rise again.
Wild Thing's comment......
So Obama the dictator will be talking AT us today and do his talking down to us once again.
They are not listening. They no longer have the consent of the governed.
I heard on TV that billionaire investor Warren Buffett advised President Barack Obama on Monday to scrap the health care bill and start over.
Posted by Wild Thing at March 3, 2010 05:40 AM
Comments
I always preferred Pepsi over Coke. Went to buy some Pepsi yesterday and after looking at their symbol, I put it down and got Coke instead. Their symbol is too closely related to Obama's.
Posted by: BobF at March 3, 2010 08:01 AM
The Baracksheviks don't know what EASTER is all about! - John 15:13 and 3:16 always...
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at March 3, 2010 11:39 AM
obama is obsessed with getting his health care through. Now that we have seen that bill we know exactly why. The obama bill is about govt. power over Americans and control of a large chunck of America's economy. In other words, socialism/Marxism.
Posted by: TomR at March 3, 2010 11:47 AM
I agree, bobf, i can't STAND the pepsi logo...
Posted by: jan at March 3, 2010 11:48 AM
The 'Peep' reminds me that my neighbor was out looking to replace the two the Bear got.
obama is tearing this country down the middle, all part of the plan I suppose. And his henchmen are pushing him ever closer to the abyss trying to drag America into the mess of Socialism.
God help us.
Posted by: Mark at March 3, 2010 05:42 PM
BobF., yes it really is similar.
Darth, thanks for the verse and your right, they don't.
Tom, that is exactly what he is ....obsessed....with it. He has to know people don't want it, only a tiny handful want it. And he could care less.
Jan, yes I think of Obama when I see it too. UGH!
Mark, it is so bad, I really an afraid on this more then anything. Cap and Trade too but I can only handle one battle at a time. whew
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 4, 2010 02:33 AM
Left/liberals think Easter means if the rabbit sees a shadow cast by a chocolate egg we''l have six more weeks of winter.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 4, 2010 07:09 AM
