{"id":2863,"date":"2009-10-19T19:04:30","date_gmt":"2009-10-19T23:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2863"},"modified":"2010-03-11T14:03:27","modified_gmt":"2010-03-11T19:03:27","slug":"jack-and-squat-obama-not-leading-on-health-care-reform-says-dem-congressman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/19\/jack-and-squat-obama-not-leading-on-health-care-reform-says-dem-congressman\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack and Squat: Obama Not Leading on Health Care Reform, Says Dem Congressman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/blog-briefing-room\/news\/63661-house-dem-obama-has-stayed-in-the-barracks-during-health-debate\" target=\"_blank\">The Hill<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>President Barack Obama is falling short as Democrats&#8217; leader in the fight for health reform, according to a freshman Dem lawmaker.<\/p>\n<p>Freshman Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) openly lamented the Obama administration&#8217;s calculated decision to let the House and Senate craft their own health bills, with the congressman blaming the president for the vast discrepancies between the two bills now.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Senate bill and the House bill are on different planets,&#8221; Massa said during an appearance on the liberal &#8220;Bill Press Radio Show&#8221; podcast. &#8220;And they&#8217;re on different planets because, as much as I want this administration to succeed, they did not present a piece of legislation to the United States Congress.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We still don&#8217;t have a piece of paper that says what his plan is. We&#8217;re kind of like pilots flying blind,&#8221; he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Heh, it looks like Democrats are starting to figure out what we&#8217;ve known for months&#8230; President Obama is feckless political coward. God help us&#8230; the buck stops with a guy who voted present 129 times!<\/p>\n<p>H\/T: <a href=\"http:\/\/ace.mu.nu\/archives\/293779.php\" target=\"_blank\">Ace<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnsnews.com\/news\/article\/55498\" target=\"_blank\">Former CBO Chief Calls Obama Administration Fiscal Policies \u2018Laughable\u2019<\/a> &#8211; CNSNews.com<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/articles\/2009\/10\/14\/washington_is_nuts_98701.html\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Is Nuts<\/a> &#8211; Tony Blankley<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.humanevents.com\/article.php?id=33997\" target=\"_blank\">Dems Go Nuclear on Obamacare<\/a> &#8211; Human Events<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/ousivMolt\/idUSTRE59F4K820091016?sp=true\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. budget gap hits record $1.4 trillion<\/a> &#8211; Reuters<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.msn.com\/id\/33336289\/ns\/politics-washington_post\/\" target=\"_blank\">Senate proposals put premium on healthy living<\/a> &#8211; MSNBC<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnsnews.com\/news\/article\/55629\" target=\"_blank\">Nation&#8217;s &#8216;Long-Term Fiscal Outlook Remains Unsustainable,&#8217; GAO Says<\/a> &#8211; CNSNews<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/note.php?note_id=155230603434\" target=\"_blank\">Good Intentions Aren&#8217;t Enough with Health Care Reform<\/a> &#8211; Sarah Palin<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsmax.com\/headlines\/obama_health_constitution\/2009\/10\/18\/273679.html\" target=\"_blank\">Obamacare May Be Unconstitutional<\/a> &#8211; Newsmax.com<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/president-obama-tough-make-important-decisions-health-care\/story?id=8858172\" target=\"_blank\">Is Obama &#8216;Too Nice&#8217; to Make Tough Decisions?<\/a> &#8211; ABC News<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From The Hill: President Barack Obama is falling short as Democrats&#8217; leader in the fight for health reform, according to a freshman Dem lawmaker. Freshman Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) openly lamented the Obama administration&#8217;s calculated decision to let the House and Senate craft their own health bills, with the congressman blaming the president for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43,7],"tags":[57,796,781,888],"class_list":{"0":"post-2863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-health-care","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-barack-obama","9":"tag-eric-massa","10":"tag-health-care-reform","11":"tag-leadership","12":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-Kb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2681,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/02\/wsj-democrats-try-tougher-tone-on-health-plan\/","url_meta":{"origin":2863,"position":0},"title":"WSJ: Democrats Try Tougher Tone on Health Plan","author":"Jeff","date":"September 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This isn't really news to political junkies like me but it is a page A3 above the fold story in today's Wall Street Journal: A top White House adviser said Tuesday he doubts two Senate Republicans at the center of health-care talks are negotiating seriously, as Democrats adopted a new,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health Care&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2621,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/18\/congressman-eric-massa-i-will-vote-against-the-interests-of-my-district\/","url_meta":{"origin":2863,"position":1},"title":"Congressman Eric Massa: I Will Vote Against the Interests of My District","author":"Jeff","date":"August 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Sen. Tom Coburn is right, American's have lost faith in their government and I can't think of a better example of why than the attitude displayed by Congressman Eric Massa of New York. Rep. Massa met with an intimate group of Netroots activists during their annual Netroots Nation gathering in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health Care&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2858,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/13\/senate-finance-committee-approves-health-care-reform-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":2863,"position":2},"title":"Senate Finance Committee Approves Health Care Reform Bill","author":"Jeff","date":"October 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Senate Finance Committee voted largely along party lines to approve committee chairman Max Baucus's Health Care Reform Bill earlier today: A key U.S. Senate committee endorsed a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Tuesday, gaining the support of an influential Republican and delivering President Barack Obama a victory on his top\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health Care&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2532,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/23\/no-health-care-vote-before-august-recess\/","url_meta":{"origin":2863,"position":3},"title":"Reid: No Health Care Vote Before August Recess","author":"Jeff","date":"July 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid effectively pulled the rug out from under Pres. Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today by announcing that the Senate will wait until the fall to debate and vote on the presidents health care reform proposals: Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday abandoned plans for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Economy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2980,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/10\/house-passes-health-care-refore-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":2863,"position":4},"title":"House Passes Health Care Refore Bill","author":"Jeff","date":"November 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I meant to post this yesterday but it slipped through the cracks of what was another manic Monday. The House of Representatives passed Nancy Pelosi's 1,990 page health care reform bill by a vote of 220 to 215 on Saturday night. The House of Representatives late Saturday night approved a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Economy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2229,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/20\/gop-introduces-alternative-to-obamacare\/","url_meta":{"origin":2863,"position":5},"title":"GOP Introduces Alternative to Obamacare","author":"Jeff","date":"May 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Republicans in the House and Senate\u00a0 today announced an alternative to Pres. Barack Obama's universal health care proposal. The Patients' Choice Act, will be introduced in the Senate by Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Richard Burr (R-NC), and in the House by Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) aims for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health Care&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2863\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}