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Obama's Health Care Speech Helps Unify Democrats

Friday 11 September 2009

by: Noam N. Levey  |  The Los Angeles Times

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President Obama speaking at Portsmouth High School in Maine. (Photo: Pete Souza / The White House)

    Washington - A day after President Obama went to Capitol Hill to renew his call for a sweeping healthcare overhaul, Democrats on Thursday rallied behind him, giving important momentum to the push for legislation this year.

    Especially important for the White House was the reaction of several conservative Democrats, who will be crucial to passing a bill that can clear the House and Senate. They cheered the president's pledge to ensure that an overhaul would not add to the government's debt.

    "If the details live up to the quality of the speech, then it's a good plan," said Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper, a conservative Democrat who has been critical of the healthcare bill developed by House leaders.

    Read more about the ongoing Congressional back and forth over health reform here.

  

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Comments

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What a snake oil salesman!

 Fri, 09/11/2009 - 15:51 — Anonymous (not verified)
What a snake oil salesman! Obama claims he will pay for most of his plan by cutting hundreds of billions of dollars worth of waste and fraud from Medicare. If he can do this, why hasn't he already started? If there is that much waste and he has the ability to get rid of it, then why didn't he start cutting that waste from day one? Does he care nothing about the taxpayer? Does anyone really believe he can put his money where his mouth is?

United Democrats need to

 Fri, 09/11/2009 - 15:56 — Anonymous (not verified)
United Democrats need to pass real reform, such as single-payer or at minimusm a vigorous public option, not just a bill that ends of bailing out the health insurance industry, at the expense of consumers and taxpayers. Tell Congress NO individual mandates!

We spend more money on bombs

 Fri, 09/11/2009 - 18:45 — Anonymous (not verified)
We spend more money on bombs and guns than we do on our own health! We need cut that defense budget in half stop these stupid wars and then we will have plenty of money for health care reform. Either way its funny we don't want to go into more debt when the health insurance idustry is destroy millions of americans lives. Get rid of those stupid bush tax cuts!

A brilliant speech by a

 Fri, 09/11/2009 - 20:38 — BitterPill (not verified)
A brilliant speech by a brilliant man. I, for one, am re-energized. Let's get this done!

I find it sad that we murder

 Sat, 09/12/2009 - 05:14 — Eilish (not verified)
I find it sad that we murder our military overseas and we murder our people here at home with sub-standard health care. Maybe the U.S. just needs to get out of the death business entirely.

"Obama's Health Care Speech

 Sat, 09/12/2009 - 15:24 — Anonymous (not verified)
"Obama's Health Care Speech Helps Unify Democrats" And predictably so, since he's once again conceded to conservative right-wing thugs. At this point he'll do anything to pass a bill, since his whole political image is at stake. You're going to see some real butt kissing, my friends, by our spineless President. Those stinking butts of the religious right have their fannies held high right now - like skunks ready to perfume. What a letdown, what an outrage, this president has been for progressives. It just goes to show that this country operates completely within the right wing consciousness. The left has been obliterated. It died with McGovern.

clamor clamor yada yada

 Sun, 09/13/2009 - 00:28 — Anonymous (not verified)
clamor clamor yada yada lotsa noise that just don't matter BECAUSE all he has done is buy in to everything the insurance companies want! everything the Reps want!