Health Care

Progressive Group Ad Targets Obama For Imperiling Public Option

Brian Beutler | October 24, 2009, 12:51PM

Responding to news first reported by TPMDC, that the White House is pushing back on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's inclination to include an optional government insurance program in the Senate's health care bill, one of the left's most hardline progressive groups is taking aim directly at President Obama.

In an unprecedented move, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee will air a new TV ad, and is gathering signatures on an emergency petition, warning the administration not to support a health care compromise, favored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), that could kill the public option.

The spot will air at least 100 times in Maine, augmented by an online fundraising drive. The group's recent ad targeting Snowe helped them raise over $100,000.

The petition reads, "Every day, insurance companies deny care and let people die. Getting one Republican senator's vote is not worth delaying reform -- too many real lives are at stake. We need you to fight and state clearly that anything less than a strong public option is not change we can believe in."

Over the course of the health care debate, liberal groups have targeted key senators standing in the way of reform. But though many on the left have long felt that the White House hasn't done enough to ensure the creation of a public option, PCCC is the first organization to make Obama the focus of a pressure ad. You can read their email to supporters below the fold.

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Health Care

Progressive Group Unveils Public Option Ad Asking 'Is Harry Reid Strong Enough'

Brian Beutler | October 19, 2009, 8:09AM

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has been ramping up its campaign for a public option in the last several weeks, will run the below ad in Nevada this week, urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to fight for the public option as he takes the lead in designing a health care bill to bring to the Senate floor.

PCCC is raising funds this week in the hope of running the ad 200 times in Las Vegas on cable and broadcast networks. It will begin airing on Wednesday. You can read a letter from PCCC to its supporters below the fold.

Reid's staff has scoffed at similar efforts in recent weeks, saying that while Reid is working to build consensus for a public option, he will not likely respond to strong-arm tactics.

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Barack Obama

Would Progressives Primary Obama if He Compromises on the Public Option?

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 11:38AM

Impossible to say at this early date. But if it happens, Keith Olbermann will look awfully prescient.

The comment comes in the last minute of the clip. Think of it less as prognostication and more as a barometer of progressive frustration with the President.

Arlen Specter

Progressive Groups Gauge Support For A Sestak-Led Specter Primary Challenge In PA

Brian Beutler | May 6, 2009, 2:17PM

It's been just over a week since Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) switched parties, and already progressive activists are taking the temperature in Pennsylvania to see if the climate's right to retire him. The liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee, in partnership with some of the Netroots' most visible blogs, is conducting a week-long straw poll to determine both the level of progressive grassroots support for challenging Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) in the 2010 primary, and whether the challenger should be Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA).

The development resembles in some ways the early days Ned Lamont's successful campaign--backed by the progressive grassroots--to defeat Sen. Joe Lieberman in the 2006 Connecticut primary. Lieberman, of course, turned around and beat Lamont in the general election by running as an Independent, but election laws in Pennsylvania would prevent Specter from doing the same thing.

For his part, Sestak seems to be positioning himself to become Netroots darling. In the last week he has grown more and more critical of both the party establishment for thoughtlessly backing Specter, and of Specter himself, who he says is an unreliable representative for Pennsylvania Democrats.

Budget

Progressive Caucus Goes Where Senate GOP Won't

Elana Schor | March 31, 2009, 5:10PM

As TPMDC has previously noted, Senate Republicans don't see the need to offer an alternative budget of their own this week -- even as they blast the priorities President Obama has outlined.

But the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is taking that leap, presenting an alternative budget that includes cuts to outdated weapons projects and defense procurement initiatives as well as a new 0.25% tax on all stock trades that would offset the staggering cost of the financial bailout.

The details of the progressives' budget are available after the jump -- and worth cheering, given the recent news that the CPC is struggling to get a literal foot in the door at the White House.

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Barack Obama

Congressional Progressives Still Waiting For Their Turn at the White House

Elana Schor | March 26, 2009, 10:17AM

My colleague Eric noted this story in the Morning Roundup, but it's worth noting that the Congressional Progressive Caucus still doesn't appear to be waking up to its potential to influence the Obama administration's agenda.

As Roll Call notes, the president has given White House face time to all manner of Democratic klatsches, from the business-friendly Blue Dogs and New Democrats to the Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses. But the Progressives' request for a meeting with Obama -- which TPMDC noted a long while back, right here as well as here -- has fallen on deaf ears.

Anyone who thinks progressives don't need to assert themselves, that they can best help Obama advance his priorities by being supportive and avoiding the appearance of nitpicking or spotlight-chasing, should read the call-to-arms that TNR's John Judis delivered to the left last month.

By allowing Republicans to define Obama's goals (his budget in particular) as the most liberal option on the table, Judis explains, progressives risk standing pat while the president gets pigeonholed as a debt-hungry lefty. Unfortunately, the Congressional Progressives have yet to speak with the unified, assertive voice that Ble Dogs and New Dems use. From Roll Call's report:

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Barack Obama

Civil Liberties Group Questions Obama's Outreach to Christian Right

Elana Schor | March 17, 2009, 2:25PM

The Family Research Council (FRC) and Concerned Women of America (CWA): You know them well as some of the most vocal right-wing groups in the nation, the types that push against President Obama's agenda as hard as they can, from his nominees to his executive orders.

And guess where the two groups are headed today ... to the White House, to meet with Obama's director of faith-based initiatives about finding common ground on religious-related issues.

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Joe Lieberman

Handling Lieberman

Matthew Cooper | March 13, 2009, 12:37PM

I realize that the very word Lieberman sends a lot of liberals into fits of apoplexy. But it's worth making an additional point to the fine post from my colleague, Eric Kleefeld. Lieberman is talking about leaving the door open to returning to the Democratic party. I think that's unlikely since he would probably be eviscerated in a primary. Still, it's a remarkable shift from a few months ago when it seemed entirely possible that Lieberman would choose to caucus with Senate Republicans.

It's worth noting what's happened to Lieberman since Obama took office. He never wavered on the stimulus. He's supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. He's been fulsome in his praise of President Obama. Think of how much harder things would be for the president if Lieberman had bolted on those issues or had chosen to caucus with Republicans.

I understand Democratic anger with Lieberman. After all, he not only opposed Barack Obama but actively campaigned for the McCain-Palin ticket and endorsed Norm Coleman in Minnesota. The sentiment to kick him out of the caucus had a lot of merit to it. And I'm not suggesting that Lieberman won't stick it to Obama and the Democrats in the future. He probably will.

That said, I think it now seems clear that Harry Reid and Barack Obama were wise not to follow the Netroots call for a Lieberman purge and to let him keep his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. I assume most readers will disagree but while the anger of kicking him to the curb would have felt good at the time, wouldn't it have made life harder for President Obama? Discuss.

Dick Cheney

Liberal Coalition Says Forget the Truth Commission, Bring on the Special Prosecutor

Elana Schor | February 24, 2009, 10:08AM

Washington has been dominated for weeks by the debate over forming an independent "truth and reconciliation commission" to uncover details about human rights and civil liberties abuses committed during the Bush administration. Prominent Democrats from Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT) to Rep. John Conyers (MI) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) have indicated their support for the concept.

But one day after Barack Obama's Pentagon was lambasted by human rights groups for reporting that conditions are humane, a coalition of liberal advocacy groups is done with taking it slow. In a statement released this morning, the 20-plus groups ask Attorney General Eric Holder to directly appoint a special prosecutor to probe former Bush administration officials.

It remains to be seen whether today's statement will move minds in Congress, where the "truth commission" plan remains controversial. Still, this call is a perfect illustration of John Judis' recent message to the American left: Expand the playing field, and do not let the White House be the most left-leaning force in the capital.

The full statement is after the jump:

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Social Security

The Story Behind That Scrapped White House Social Security Task Force

Elana Schor | February 23, 2009, 1:00PM

The New York Times reports this morning that the White House had abandoned plans to unveil a Social Security "task force" at today's fiscal summit, raising the question of whether the Obama administration is ready to conduct separate debate over the long-term health of Social Security and Medicare -- or whether the tired canard of "dangerous entitlement spending" will continue to rule the political roost.

One liberal activist who weighed in against the proposed task force told me that some within the administration are ready to attempt "one more fix" for Social Security, thinking of the 70-year-old benefits program "as an equation to be solved" and the Obama team as the mathematicians on the case.

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Barack Obama

Sebelius Update

Matthew Cooper | February 19, 2009, 3:12PM

As soon as Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination to be HHS Secretary , a lot of liberal bloggers started throwing around the names of Howard Dean and John Kitzaber, both former Democratic governors and both physicians, to replace him. Neither, we noted at the time, was seriously in play. We seem to be right.
(Whew.)

We did mention Kathleen Sebelius and while there's no certain confirmation that the Kansas Governor will be nominated to be Barack Obama's HHS Secretary, outside groups following this closely tell me that Sebelius is undergoing final vetting and the White House wants to be extra, extra careful not to have this one blow up. After all it would be the fourth withdrawn cabinet nomination, following Tom Daschle, Bill Richardson and Judd Gregg. Sebelius was vetted for vice president but that's not enough. Everything is being updated, I hear. The announcement could come this week and certainly by Obama's address to the nation and a joint session of Congress on Feb 24 where Sebelius is likely to be in the gallery seated near Michelle Obama.

There's some disappointment among liberal groups about Sebelius's nomination, not because of her positions which they like but because she had the best shot at a Democratic pickup of the Senate seat that will be vacated by Sam Brownback, the Kansas Republican, when he retires at the end of his term.

Barack Obama

Oh, Canada

Matthew Cooper | February 19, 2009, 11:43AM

Barack Obama's in Ottawa today. The snow's falling. People are skating on the canals. The president and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will meet and Obama will fly home after a few hours. It's the classic first presidential visit abroad.

But there are a couple of things to watch out for in this meeting with America's largest trading partner. The first is backtracking on the North American Free Trade Agreement. During the primaries Candidate Obama vowed to rewrite the deal. Now, uh, not so much. In an interview with Canadian TV he hinted that this wasn't the time to start getting all disruptive with settled agreements. Will organized labor let this one slide? A lot will depend on the language coming out of Obama's meeting with Harper.

Here's Thea Lee, policy director at the AFL-CIO was pretty mellow in her comments about the trip:

"We hope there will be greater fiscal cooperation in response to the economic crisis ... both in terms of scale and content," she said.

"We would like to see the labor and environment provisions in NAFTA strengthened and enforced more effectively."

Second, Afghanistan. What kind of commitments can he get out of Canada to help with the Obama surge? Canada's been in this fight from the start and their military is not huge but can Obama get more out of them? It'll be at least a bit of a harbinger of what could happen when he goes to the Europeans hat in hand.

National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones is on the trip. Hillary Clinton is in Asia. Could be some intereseting Kremlinology in who actually does the readouts to the press. Jones, by the way, won't need translation gear. Raised in France for much of his youth, he speaks fluent French.

Capitol Culture

The Fairness Doctrine, R.I.P.

Matthew Cooper | February 18, 2009, 6:47PM

Well, it looks like "the fairness doctrine" died a quiet death today. White House spokesman Ben LaBolt told Fox News that President Obama was not interested in restoring the Federal Communications Commission rule that basically requires broadcasters to give equal time to opposing points of view.

If enforced, the rule would obviously create havoc in talk radio land where conservatives dominate the airwaves. Not surprisingly, the right has been in a tailspin about this, predicting that Obama would somehow take away half of Rush and Sean and Laura and but liberals in their place. Talk about redistribution! But despite some congressional interest in the measure, the idea of restoring it was never really in play.

Intellectually, I think the idea is weak and the administration seems to think so, too. After all, it hearkens back to a pre-internet era when finding an opposing view was harder. But there were some lingering questions about what Obama would do. David Axelrod got asked about it on Fox News Sunday--yes, this is a News Corp obsession--and he punted, saying it was a decision best left for Julius Genachowski, Obama's not-yet-announced nominee to chair the FCC. (Genachowski is a close friend, for what it's worth.) But it looks like the decision's already been made. Seems sensible to me but the right loses something to fulminate about. I'm curious to see how much disappointment there is on the left.

Progressive Community

Obama Outreach to Blogosphere

Matthew Cooper | February 11, 2009, 5:17PM

Well, it's a new era in Washington. A little bit, at least. The administration just finished their first event for bloggers and progressive media, a conference call with, appropriately enough, Jared Bernstein, one of the more liberal leaning members of the president's economic team. He's the top economic policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden and he spoke for about 45 minutes with the likes of MYDD.com and yours truly.

A veteran of think tanks and a trained TV pundit, Bernstein, who has written for TPM, seemed a bit cautious and not at all eager to make news. The highlights were that he praised the stimulus package while noting that it doesn't have everything the administration and others would have liked. He noted, too, that just because something was excised from the stimulus package that in now way means the administration won't come back and try it again at a later point. He wouldn't get into specifics on what they might come back to but it's in keeping with a larger point I've tried to make (but that he refrained from explicitly making): This probably isn't the last stimulus.

I asked him how much good the bill could really do while the bank bailout plan remains so sketchy. Bernstein used a medical analogy saying that the stimulus plan was designed to
"get the patient's heart beating again" while the bank stabilization plan was about getting the patient's arteries cleaned out.

Another interesting point he made was that the stimulus package could probably shave a couple of points off of the unemployment rate but with the rate heading towards double digits you might well find the rate at 7.5 percent or so by the end of 2010. It's a sobering thought. We'll be coming out of this thing when the unemployment rate is what it is now. In other words, the roller coaster still has farther to go down.

But the biggest headline was probably the meeting itself. Jesse Lee, the online director at Casa Blanca, introduced Bernstein on the call and said he hoped that the progressive media call would be "the first in a newly sustained tradition." Let's hope.

Barack Obama

Progressive Think Tank Not So Thrilled With Obama's Regulatory Chief

Elana Schor | January 26, 2009, 3:03PM

The L.A. Times had a nice preview on this today, but the Center for Progressive Reform has just come out with a comprehensive report casting doubt on the regulatory record of Cass Sunstein, the president's pick to head the office in charge of government regulatory efforts.

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