MoveOn.org is mad at Rahmbo for waffling about their beloved government option. My question for Rahmbo is this: If all you really care about is signing some bill called "health care reform," why not talk to some actual Republicans and craft bipartisan legislation? or this that beyond the pale to contemplate?
MoveOn Pulls the "Trigger" on Rahm
July 07, 2009 9:06 PM
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's remarks in today's Wall Street Journal -- in which he argued that a government-run public health care plan isn't as important as the need for competition driving down insurance costs -- has resulted in the liberal group MoveOn.org rallying its base to tell President Obama to resist Emanuel's views.
"The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest," Emanuel told the Journal. "The goal is non-negotiable; the path is" negotiable.
Even more controversially, Emanuel floated the notion of a "trigger," in which a public plan is formed only if private industry fails to take the steps necessary to lower costs, as the GOP did when forming the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
On Captol Hill today, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, told reporters that this was news.
"I had never heard that they were for the trigger," he said. "That came as a surprise to me. Maybe in year three there might be a public plan? Not good enough."
This afternoon, MoveOn sent out an email to its more than 3 million members saying that "Emanuel signaled support for a 'trigger' provision -- a proposal that would undermine the public option, and put off real reform for years."
MoveOn said that according to The Huffington Post, "Emanuel has been floating the idea of a trigger since January. Right now, when key committees are finalizing health care legislation, Emanuel's remarks will only embolden conservative opponents of reform. He should be standing with the majority of Americans for a strong public health insurance option -- not disastrous half-measures.
"Can you call the White House switchboard and tell them you're disappointed in Chief of Staff Emanuel's comments supporting the 'trigger'?"
Seemingly out of the blue, the White House sent out a paper statement from the president, who is in Moscow.
"I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest," the president said. "I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals."
As Slate's John Dickerson observes, "the president's statement, while aimed at reiterating his commitment, doesn't actually contradict anything Emanuel said. If, in the end, if Obama decides that a trigger or a cooperative plan keeps insurance companies honest, then he will say he's kept his word on the goals of the public option. So Obama's statement today can be read as both a walk-back of Emanuel's remarks and support of them. When I pointed this out to a White House adviser, the response was succinct: 'Mission accomplished..'"
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