Obama's Engagement On Health Care Has 'Dried Up': Dem Senator

Despite urging Democratic senators on Wednesday to forge ahead on health care reform, President Obama and his aides have been largely hands-off in guiding the legislative process, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post. And on Thursday a leading Senate progressive called out the White House publicly for abandoning the leadership role that is needed to get legislation passed.

"The president was weighing in pretty heavily on the discussions between the House and Senate before the Massachusetts special [Senate] election," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told Huffington Post. "It's dried up since."

"I think the president needs to work out with House Democrats and leaders in the Senate what we've got to do in reconciliation and what we can pass in reconciliation," Brown added. "And I think we can do a lot. I'm not a minimalist here, that we just do the minimum, do the little bit that's required. I think we can do some significant improvements on the Senate bill. We need to because House members are not exactly trusting of the Senate these days."

Brown's lament was echoed in conversations with several high-ranking Senate aides this past week, many of whom agreed that the administration's involvement in health care negotiations has declined since Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts Senate race. Part of the toned-down engagement seems tactical. The main hurdle to getting reform passed is an absence of conviction among House Democratic lawmakers that the Senate will amend their bill using reconciliation. And it's debatable how much the president can do to generate that trust.

On Wednesday, the Plum Line's Greg Sargent reported that White House officials were telling congressional aides that they support a plan for the House to pass the Senate's bill with an accompanying reconciliation fix. But an administration official told HuffPost that no such signal was being sent.

All of which has struck Sherrod Brown and others as somewhat peculiar. Most observers of the debate believe that the best way to get legislation passed is to follow the suggestion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), who said that the Senate needs to make a firm commitment (either in writing or action) to amend its legislation. Whatever steps can be made to facilitate that process would seem important. But the administration is so far declining to engage.

Asked on Wednesday what the White House was doing to help convey Pelosi's message to Senate Democrats, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton replied: "Well, I think that Speaker Pelosi has made her views clear, and I think that she's probably communicating her own message to Senate Democrats."

Huffington Post: "So you're not helping her out communicating that message?"

Burton: "Well, I think that if Speaker Pelosi wants to talk to Senate Democrats, she knows where to find them, and I assume that she is indeed talking to them. The President, as I've said, has made his principles clear here on health care and thinks that we need to finish the work so that we can get health reform signed into law."

Comments

[a1b2c3]

12:18 PM on 02/06/2010

Some how I knew from the very beginning, when a health care bill was first being considered, that no decent,fair bill would be passed into law. Obama was not strong enough,in support of his promises he campaigned on regarding health care. He certainly was not strong enough to fight the drug companies or the insurance companies and their millions they spent on crooked House members and crooked senators and there are plenty of them. He did not exert a strong hands on policy for a plan he considered vital for the people at the very beginning of discussions.But allowed the senate and house to go their own way with the result that the Senate passed a bill so bad no one outside of government thought worthy of all the time,money and effort that went into this attempt. And now Obama has taken a hands off policy toward the bill of any kind in thinking the whole mess will simply go away. The drug and insurance companies have finally won!........and the beat goes on

[live by the golden rule]

03:49 PM on 02/05/2010

The Senate should pass the HOUSE bill with 50 votes (reconciliation) and then if the Senate wants to change other things (presumably the Republicans will want to do this), it will take 60 votes to do that, otherwise we have the House bill.

[HowdyDoody]

04:46 PM on 02/05/2010

No can do. There is a lot of heavy regulation of the insurance companies in both bills and many other aspects regarding cost that probably can't be passed under reconciliation.

To be honest, I thought the process for passing the healthcare bill was already set up. Nancy Pelosi announced it yesterday or the day before. (1) Pass the "fix" to the healthcare bill in the Senate under reconciliation; (2) Pass the "fix" in the House; and (3) Pass the Senate bill as-is in the House.

Pelosi seems to have enough people on board. Is the Senate holding this thing up? They only need 50 votes, so I'm guessing the bought off Dems in the Senate are holding things up.

[Paralogos]

11:53 AM on 02/05/2010

It's not hard to figure out - I'm surprised if Brown hasn't done so already. The special election for Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts senate seat was a hard deadline, and Obama and his staff set aside the time and energy to bang heads together in hopes of getting a workable House/Senate compromise bill through the Senate while the Democrats had a theoretical capacity to cut off Republican procedural shenanigans. Now that that election has been fought and lost, different legislative tactics are in order, and the value of Obama's intervention is vastly reduced. At this point, the House pretty much needs to suck it in and vote the Senate bill, while getting discreet assurances from Democratic senate leaders that key problems will be fixed by reconciliation. They don't need Obama to tell them that.

[ArchAngel]

11:59 AM on 02/05/2010

The really BIG problem with this is that they now look at the established record of duplicitous dealings and double crosses and see that they cannot believe or trust "discreet assurances".

That's what happens when you betray your own base - they are no longer your own base.

[DuPageDem]

10:27 AM on 02/05/2010

Sherrod is right, but way too late. He voted for this POS Senate bill, as well as endless war funding, proving he's no different than Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson or any other corporate stooge. There are no progressives left in the senate. Time for all of them to go.

[Parodox]

07:09 AM on 02/05/2010

"Oba.ma's Engagement On Health Care Has 'Dried Up''
So is his constituency.

[Carole Williams]

05:03 AM on 02/05/2010

The Senate needs to grow a pair, listen to Reed about what can pass in Reconciliation, and pass it. I'm sick of these whiny babies who want the Prez to hold their friggin hands. They won't take responsibility for anything but running their big mouths. Bunch of babies who have stopped doing anything productive. Pass the damn bill!!!!

[Manx]

02:48 AM on 02/05/2010

Obama is still listening to Rahm Emanuel who wants to drop the pursuit of health care reform legislation altogether after Brown's win in Massachusetts, according to the NY Times.

[emma richmond]

01:33 AM on 02/05/2010

We are sick of hearing what the President should do, what you senators doing besides whining and complainting and staying in front of the cameras, you have a President willing to work with you cowards and all can do is blame the President for your faults, We say get your butts in gear and get to work. This Senator in Massachusetts screw up and looked for the President to come and fix it, if she couldn't run a campaign she should not been campaigning, so far Nancy use to be strong what's wrong with you people, like the President said where is your Faith and Prayers. You Democrats need to stand behind the President and stay from in front of the Cameras.

[emma richmond]

01:23 AM on 02/05/2010

We are just so sick of you whining Democrats all of you are riding the President Coattail, He have to get out there and stump to keep the Party together, you can't give a decent Speech, but you can haul your ignorance butts in front of the TV Camera Complainting, about the President, He put the Health Care Bill in your hands at the same time he was working on it, you guys was stabbing him in the back with the Republicans. Tonight we saw Sherrod Brown in front the Camera today whining and on Jon Steward, Anthony Weiner sitting there whining about what the President, Just tell what in the Hell is they good for the President working Jobs and everything else, The one's they should be Jaw-Jacking is the Republican, they Cow down to them, this is the hardest working President, His Democratics don't have his back, not one will come out to defend him, it seem like the President is a one man Party, We listen to Blanch and Bayh the other day one would have thought they was Republican, President Obama just have exposed these so called Democrats who is wearing the name, just opportunities, we would like to hear one of them hold a town hall meeting and Q and A.

[rougebaisers]

01:10 AM on 02/05/2010

Any politician with any common sense will run away from that gigantic farce you have sitting on your tables called health reform. You have all fooled no one with your tragic attempt to ream all of America financially, while handing out a handful of useful changes, changes the greed merchants would simply steer around to continue their rape and pillage of Americas pocket books. This is what you want, this is what you get.....start all over again.....and this time try to fashion something that works for the people. We're watching you.

[hehe]

01:06 AM on 02/05/2010

The simple reality is one that many of us on the other side of the aisle have known since the campaign. Obama is an empty suit, a man of no significant legislative achievement at any level, whose only skill has been to sing a siren song to the believers.
I know, you disagree. But even for the democrats, progressives, and liberals, has he not cooed in your ear promising to battle, to change, to act? Has not each of his pillow talk promises come with an expiration date?
Results speak for themselves. A significant majority on the hill, the White House, an approval rate of 65+, and what does he have to show for it? He has been defeated by a "mob" of "teabaggers" who have no leader and beaten down by Palin's Facebook page.
He is alas a failure.

[structurequity]

12:03 AM on 02/05/2010

Such a mediocre president at this most important time of crisis is a most dispiriting knowing. Past insight is no use now, we are in it up to our eyes and no end in sight. Yet, our leadership rearranges the deck chairs for the umpteenth time and asks us to accept a better sinking. I mean by leadership the entire trio of our federal government, nary a one with sense to vacate and announce failure. Failure to meet the needs of the citizenry, or a sustainable future for our progeny so often depicted as needing no prophylactic from life that in the end we'll all die for lack of trying, for lack of huevos.

[iswideopen]

11:55 PM on 02/04/2010

All congressional Democrats need to stop blaming President Obama and do their jobs. You are not children; you are senators. Why do you need someone to hold your hands. Man and Woman Up or quit your jobs if they have become too difficult. The American people are waiting; I am, for sure. PASS THE HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION NOW.

[CAskeptic]

11:10 PM on 02/04/2010

Obama only displays weakness with his begging for Republicans to be nice to him. Makes him look weak and Democrats look weak. Quit begging and kick some ass.

[throck93]

02:39 AM on 02/05/2010

Republicans look weak by saying NO to everything and doing all they can to obstruct things that would be good for America. They look even weaker when they have to lie, scream, and distort facts to try to get their point across....... Obama is just pointing out the obvious of the immaturity of the G"NO"P!!!!!!

If only the GOP would say yes to something, this country might actually be in decent shape. But, here we are, still on the verge of collapse because of the obstructionists............

[dfortruth]

10:53 PM on 02/04/2010

The question is who gets to vote on the health care bill Pres. Obama or Congress?

Why are you blaming Obama, do your damn job. If his administration want the trial in NY, you cry about it,
what ever anyone does they blame Obama for it. Lose in Va, it's Obama, lose in NJ, it's Obama
lose in Mass, it's Obama's fault.

Damn, when is the lat time I heard any dems come out and speak up for their party.

Just blame that black man in the White House, it just won't work.
What are you going to say to the people who God chose to put color on their skin when you want our vote? You would just have to be blind not to see through this congress...

[rakrobn]

11:53 PM on 02/04/2010

"What are you going to say to the people who God chose to put color on their skin when you want our vote?" ----- fulfilling the stereotype that Republicans say that you only voted for Obama bc he's black. Or is that true in your case? Trying to throw the race card at the party that is trying to make life better for the middle class is a little bit disingenuous.

[iswideopen]

12:02 AM on 02/05/2010

rakrobn:
You have totally missed the point. What dfortruth is saying is that all those white Democrats take the Black Americans votes for granted. Of courese we would vote for the first Black president of the United States. After what we've been through, and are still going through, why the hell wouldn't we. The Democrats had better pass the healthcare bill or it is they, not President Obama, who won't have a job. We have been quiet and will remain so. But we dare them to sink his presidency by not acting on his policies. That is a promise.