Just after President Obama gave a speech that The Huffington Post called "Obama's Last Stand" this blogger got an email from the Obama campaign that was a reach back to the days when then-Senator Barack Obama was running for President. In The Daily Beast video below, President Obama calls for an "up or down" vote on Health Care, in effect, laying down the gauntlet and saying "I do not know how this plays politically, but I know it's right...Let's get it done."
Then, this email appeared from the Obama campaign called "A final vote on health reform". It was edited to remove links and words that only report on link direction so that the post can be cross-placed; only the text appears:
Zenophon --
Last Thursday's first-of-its-kind summit capped off a debate that has lasted nearly a year. Every idea has now been put on the table. Every argument has been made. Both parties agree that the status quo is unacceptable and gets more dire each day. Today, I want to state as clearly and forcefully as I know how: Now is the time to make a decision about the future of health care in America.
The final proposal I've put forward draws on the best ideas from all sides, including several put forward by Republicans at last week's summit. It will put Americans in charge of their own health care, ensuring that neither government nor insurance company bureaucrats can ration, deny, or put out of financial reach the care our families need and deserve.
I strongly believe that Congress now owes the American people a final vote on health care reform. Reform has already passed the House with bipartisan support and the Senate with a super-majority of sixty votes. Now it deserves the same kind of up-or-down vote that has been routinely used and has passed such landmark measures as welfare reform and both Bush tax cuts.
Earlier today, I asked leaders in both houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. From now until then, I will do everything in my power to make the case for reform. And now, I'm asking you, the members of the Organizing for America community, to raise your voice and do the same.
The final march for reform has begun, and your participation is crucial. Please commit to join with me to take reform across the finish line.
Essentially, my proposal would change three things about the current health care system:
First, it would protect all Americans from the worst practices of insurance companies. Never again will the mother with breast cancer have her coverage revoked, see her premiums arbitrarily raised, or be forced to live in fear that a pre-existing condition will bar her from future coverage.
Second, my proposal would give individuals and small businesses the same choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves. And my proposal says that if you still can't afford the insurance in this new marketplace, we will offer you tax credits based on your income -- tax credits that add up to the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history.
Finally, my proposal would bring down the cost of health care for everyone -- families, businesses, and the federal government -- and bring down our deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next two decades. These savings mean businesses small and large will finally be freed up to create jobs and increase wages. With costs currently skyrocketing, reform is vital to remaining economically strong in the years and decades to come.
In the few crucial weeks ahead, you can help make sure this proposal becomes law.
When I talked about change on the campaign, this is what I was talking about: coming together to solve a huge problem that has been troubling America for 100 years and standing up to the special interests to deliver a brighter, smarter future for generations to come.
I look forward to signing this historic reform into law. And when I do, it will be because your organizing played an essential role in making change possible.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
It's clear President Obama's pulling out all the stops to win the Health Reform battle. And why not? There are more people without health care than ever before and the situation's only getting worse, not better. The time to make changes in the health care system started decades go and only now is American catching up to the problem in the form of any policy action. It just happens to be at a time when it's needed the most.
President Obama should do it with 51 votes and get this over with. Even if "Reconciliation" (as it's called when a bill that mandates tax and spending actions is passed with 51 votes) upsets Republicans, so what? Republicans have shown no remorse in upsetting President Obama. Obama's not going to "nice-them" to fall in line; it's not working. Sometimes, when all else fails, a good, legal Presidential punch in the mouth is a good thing.
That time has come.
