Daily Memo: POLITICS:

Obamaites untapped on health care

President working the business side of debate so far, instead of marshaling his mass of supporters

Thursday, July 9, 2009 | 2 a.m.

We can't afford not to reform health care (7-5-2009)
Data highlighted need for reform (7-3-2009)
Demonstrators rally for health care reform (6-27-2009)
Momentum from Obama campaign dissipates (5-24-2009)

When then-Sen. Barack Obama was elected president last year, Democrats hoped that his grass-roots organizing drive would change everything.

The organization relied on high degrees of enthusiasm and technology to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in small increments and leaned on 2 million active volunteers to win the election handily.

Some liberals thought Obama’s machine would do more than deliver victory. They hoped it would change governing — mobilizing grass-roots activism to force big change on Washington, meaning universal health care and a move toward a carbon-free future.

Nevada Democrats were especially hopeful. In a state with little history of political or civic activism, Democrats registered voters and got them to the polls in record numbers. These new activists pledged to continue the momentum and shift power from special interests such as the gaming industry to average people.

The reality is much more complicated.

Take the current battle over health care reform, which is in a crucial stage on Capitol Hill.

Advocates of reform are wondering if and when Obama is going to mobilize his citizen army.

Writing in The Washington Post, columnist Harold Meyerson notes the Obama administration’s success in co-opting big corporate interests such as Wal-Mart for the drive to universal coverage.

Then he adds, “But if you measure the administration’s campaign by the degree of street heat on legislators to enact a universal plan, the results look far less rosy.”

Meyerson would like to see Obama activate his base and get it moving.

It’s not such an easy or necessarily prudent task, however.

Marc Ambinder, politics editor at The Atlantic, wrote a much-discussed piece last year about how Obama’s organization could conceivably change governing.

“There is a significant, a major difference between campaigning, which involves pursuit of a singular goal, and passing legislation, which is messy and involves competing interests,” Ambinder said Wednesday in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun.

“It’s proved difficult for them to adapt methods of the campaign to the much less satisfying business of government,” he said. “On the other hand, you can’t fault them for trying.” He noted that phone banking seemed to help win support, on the margins, in the fight over the recently passed cap-and-trade legislation.

Tom Schaller, a political scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and close observer of Democratic politics, said one problem is that many people had lots of reasons to work for and vote for Obama last year, but they may have widely divergent views about, say, health care.

Strategic and tactical considerations also play roles.

The White House needs to keep moderate Democrats in the fold, especially on such sensitive issues as health care because they may need 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a Republican filibuster.

So, having tens of thousands of activists call the offices of moderate Democrats might do nothing but annoy those members.

On the other hand, lawmakers generally react to call volumes, especially if the calls or e-mails come from their home states.

Ambinder said the White House has been most focused on co-opting powerful opposition, such as big business, hospitals and doctors, which it hopes will clear the way for passage.

Still, Ambinder said, “When it’s time to vote for final passage on the floor, you may see … the sort of pressure that replicates the energy they were able to generate” last year.

Here in Nevada, the energy has dissipated, without question.

Not for everyone, however. Yvette Williams, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and one of Obama’s most valuable foot soldiers here, is still working around the clock, volunteering and serving on committees.

She will be recruited hard to take the next step and run against Republican state Sen. Barbara Cegavske next year.

No thanks, Williams said.

Unless Obama calls personally, in which case she could never say no to him, she said with a laugh.

Discussion: 11 comments so far…

By steve7952

7/9/09 at 5:05 a.m.

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If you want to add fuel to the national deficit which is already out of control without regard for future generations who is going to pay dearly, join the voting bloc at:
http://www.votingbloc.org/Health_Bloc.ph......
If you believe universal health care works then ask any Veteran who uses the VA medical system how it works. That's "Universal". Go Socialist? I don't think so.
By atdleft

7/9/09 at 5:34 a.m.

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steve-

That's because Bush defunded the VA. Isn't it funny how Republicans make government dysfunctional before telling us that "government doesn't work"? Medicare is the most efficient health care system in this country. If we all had access to Medicare, the problem will be solved.

pontesisto-

I'm with you!
By Galfromvegas

7/9/09 at 6:41 a.m.

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Maybe the reporter could have talked to us wee local folk who actually worked on the Obama campaign and have remained active. We even held a protest at Welpoint a couple weeks ago to support the Obama health plan.
By Cannon_Asesrb

7/9/09 at 6:43 a.m.

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IF you would like to help create a system where the government has access to all your medical records, despite many of you whining that the government obtaining phone billing records was the same as illegal wiretapping, by all means support a single payer health care system.

Atdleft, kinda like this eh? "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Veterans groups are angry after President Obama told them Monday that he is still considering a proposal to have treatment for service-connected injuries charged to veterans' private insurance plans." http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/17/o...

Or perhaps you are talking about this shill for the Retughs, http://www.antiwar.com/glantz/?articleid...

"by Aaron Glantz

President George W. Bush signed a $696 billion Pentagon spending bill immediately before his State of the Union address Monday night, which funds all Defense Department programs not directly tied to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, expands health care for injured veterans, and gives U.S. soldiers a pay raise." But but but BUSH DEFUNDED THE VA, right?

Besides atdleft links links links, where are they? I just did a dogpile.com search for "Bush defunding the VA" and got only 3 pages of links with nothing about the VA. I just checked google and got only two articles from alternate media/bloggers remotely talking about the VA in the first five. You would think that such a story would be more common, if it were true. Come up with some links.

Atdleft currently you on the left are saying that Medicare is a wonderful system, but it can be more efficient. Well fix it first to show us how efficiently it can run and then I will give up my medical privacy to the government.

Just curious to all you lefties, if the government is supposed to be out of our bedrooms and the government is supposed to take care of our health, does that mean my partner can only get an abortion if we have sex outside of the bedroom?
By shrek

7/9/09 at 8:05 a.m.

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Here's a petition to ask President Obama & Congress to tax & legalize all drugs & use the tax proceeds to fund FREE Health care for All US Citizens.

Click here to sign:

http://act.ly/76

Please forward to everyone you know.
By BobbyG

7/9/09 at 9:53 a.m.

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I have been all over this issue in detail for a good while. See

http://bgladd.blogspot.com

For more than bumper sticker sloganeering.
By steve7952

7/9/09 at 10:17 a.m.

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Any person who supports this Bill should read about the conception of Social Security and see it now. Most Bills are well meaning and for good intentions then turn out to be to the contrary i.e. I walked into the Social Security office the other day and only two of us were Americans (who actually paid into it). Further, don't assume because others who oppose this Bill are Republicans, Bush supporters etc; just Americans who oppose big Government, squanderers of our tax dollars with common sense. An Independant.
By gotjobs

7/9/09 at 12:27 p.m.

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It should be against the law to sign a bill without reading it.

Stimulus bill 1079 pages, $787 billion signed unread.

Cap & Trade(TAX) scam 1200 pages passes house, unread.

http://www.openmarket.org/2009/04/24/oba...

Now Reid when asked about reading or public viewing of the healthcare bill has no comment.
By VegasActivist

7/9/09 at 8:43 p.m.

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There were many health care service day events held on Saturday, July 27th across America. Several Organizing for America members (formally Obama for America) joined in several locally. Yvette Williams is a member of our group OFA-Volunteers for Change and we (over 40 volunteers participated) visited Tent City in downtown Las Vegas and passed out almost 300 bags of healthy food items, water, hygiene items, and literature on where to go if they need health care. This is in addition to phoning and emailing our representatives to express our health care concerns and desires. Knowing Yvette I'm confident she shared this information with Patrick, so I wonder why he didn't report that. BTW, Yvette is one of us "wee local folk" you're speaking about "galfromvegas." If anyone is concerned about this issue they should join OFA by going to www.barackobama.com.
By nors

7/11/09 at 10:53 a.m.

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Fight of the century:

MEGA HUGE INSURANCE vs. THE AMRERICAN PEOPLE

Any successful business person recognizes the concept of competition. It builds volume, lowers prices, and increases profit--every single time.

Since this health debate is between mega huge insurance and the American People, our govenment is the only entity big enough to provide competition to big insurance, who have joined forces--and money, to fight against health reform and are spending millions per day to make sure they keep their pockets lined with gold off the backs and on the very lives of Americans. They are doing this with the help of the GOP in congress.

Support a "Public Option"; reject the fearmongering GOP and the blood thirsty insurance industry.