White House, House Majority Leader Clash On Healthcare Reform Deadline
While the network newscasts focused their coverage of the healthcare debate on
protests by backers of the White House plan, a number of print outlets remarked
on a public disagreement between White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and
House Majority Leader Stony Hoyer. The
Baltimore
Sun, in a story mainly devoted to the DC rally against insurance
companies, reports that "on Capitol Hill, the prospects for passing a bill
remained mired in political uncertainty." Hoyer told reporters that "House
leaders had not committed to finishing work on the healthcare bill by March 18,
as...Gibbs had suggested last week."
Politico
notes that Hoyer said, "None of us has mentioned the 18th, other than Mr.
Gibbs."
AFP
reports that when asked to react to Hoyer's comments, "Gibbs stuck with his
prediction that the House will vote on the sweeping legislation by March 18,
when the president leaves for a week-long journey to Indonesia and Australia,
calling it a 'doable' time
frame."
The
Hill says it "didn't appear as though the White House and House leaders
were communicating effectively, at least over the target date for finishing
healthcare." At the tail end of a story about GOP efforts to derail the
President's plan, the
Washington
Post also notes Gibbs "said Obama would take an active role in the
meantime to build Democratic
support."
On its "Speaker's Lobby" blog, meanwhile,
Fox
News reports that referring to past and present deadlines, "one senior
Democratic strategist with knowledge of the health care talks" tells Fox,
"Congressional Democrats have come to see such markers as more of a problem than
a motivator, but the White House hasn't seemed to digest
that."
McClatchy
reports that "Obama senior adviser David Axelrod, on a conference call Tuesday,
told advocates of the legislation, 'What happens in the next 10 days will be
critical.'" In its latest, unofficial "Whip Count,"
The
Hill lists 26 Democrats as currently undecided on the healthcare
measure.
The
AP
reports that a new AP-GfK poll shows "more than four in five Americans say it's
important that any health care plan have support from both parties. And 68
percent say the president and congressional Democrats should keep trying to cut
a deal with Republicans rather than pass a bill with no GOP
support."
Carnahan Won't Appear With Obama During Missouri Visit
Politico
reports that "when...Obama travels to Missouri Wednesday to make a final pitch
for his health care overhaul, the Senate candidate from his own party won't be
there to greet him." Robin Carnahan's campaign tells Politico that he "will be
absent from the invitation-only afternoon rally at St. Charles High School due
to a prior
commitment."
Morris: If Reform Passes, Democrats Could Lose Over 80 Seats
Dick Morris, in his column for
The
Hill writes that "before this last, demented attempt to pass
healthcare, the Democrats would have lost control of the House anyway. But with
it, they face the loss of a historically high number of seats -- perhaps more
than
80."
Backers Of Health Reform Measure Rally Against Insurers
A protest against health insurance executives in Washington yesterday generated
largely sympathetic media coverage (which included reports on two network
newscasts). The
CBS Evening News reported "angry protestors targeted the
insurance industry" and "descended not on the Capitol or the White House
today...but Washington's Ritz Carlton Hotel, where executives from the nation's
largest insurance companies were holding an annual
conference."
ABC World News said the protesters took "their cue from President Obama."
Howard Dean was shown saying, "This is a vote about one thing. Are you for the
insurance companies or are you for the American people?" ABC continued, "The
attacks are pretty harsh. They are accusing the insurance CEO's of bribery,
money laundering and
manslaughter."
The
Baltimore
Sun refers to a "a reverse twist on the old protestors' tactic of
getting arrested to make a point," as "union leaders and other backers
of...Obama's healthcare plan issued 'citizen's arrest' warrants for health
insurance executives Tuesday – accusing them of exploiting
consumers."
Over 400 local TV broadcasts across the country covered the protest last night.
Many of the stories quoted Howard Dean addressing protestors with the statement,
"This vote is about one thing -- are you for the health insurance companies, or
are you for the American people?"
WSMH-TV Flint, MI, reported that
"after...Obama slammed health insurance companies for recent rate hikes, dozens
of protesters hit the streets of Washington with a similar message for the
industry they call abusive" while "demanding health care reform and accusing
insurers of putting money before
medicine."
WSVN-TV Miami reported that Tuesday "hundreds of protesters marched in
the nation's Capital from downtown to a hotel where insurance leaders were
meeting, to denounce soaring health insurance costs and what they call a broken
system."
The
Washington
Post also notes that "reinforcing the Obama administration's recent
criticism of increasing health premiums, the demonstrators marched to the hotel
to make a mock 'citizen's arrest' of insurance executives, who were demonized on
demonstration posters and over the
loudspeaker."
