Thread: White House Signals Allegiance With Centrists

I posted this in here because there is a section in this report (in bold) about immigration reform.


White House signals allegiance with centrists on major healthcare points
By Alexander Bolton - 01/14/10 01:21 PM ET

White House officials have subtly steered healthcare negotiations over the most controversial disagreements between the Senate and House in favor of Democratic centrists.

Through selective media leaks, White House advisers have let it be known that President Barack Obama does not support the House in some of its biggest disputes with the upper chamber.

Among the most important issues, Obama’s advisers have told reporters the president made clear in a meeting with House leaders last week that he supports the Senate proposal to place a 40 percent excise tax on high-cost insurance plans.

Administration officials also leaked that Obama took the same stance in a meeting with labor union presidents, who staunchly oppose the idea, during a meeting Monday.

Healthcare negotiators reached a tentative deal on the excise tax on Thursday but details have yet to be released.

White House officials have also told news organizations that the president supports the Senate plan to create a commission to recommend Medicare spending cuts, a proposal that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has opposed.

Anonymous Democratic officials have signaled that negotiators are ready to discard proposals from the House such as a 5.4 percent surtax on the nation’s highest earners and a requirement that large employers provide coverage to employees or pay new taxes.

White House officials have indicated support for some House measures, such as creating an insurance exchange on a national instead of a state-by-state basis and expanding the Medicare payroll tax to cover the investments of high earners. But these issues are considered less significant than the excise tax, employer mandate and Medicare savings commission.

At the same time, White House spokesmen have distanced Obama and his senior advisers from media reports.

“The reports you’re reading from anonymous sources are at best educated guesses, and at worst ill-informed or wishful speculation,â€

Emanuel, who served as chairman of the House Democratic campaign committee and the Democratic Caucus, clashed with liberal colleagues at times by pushing for the protection of vulnerable Democrats in conservative districts. Most notably, Emanuel helped block an effort to take up comprehensive immigration reform in the House, fearing it could hurt centrist Democrats at the polls.


Makes sense and totally expected,the Socialist party are on the ropes politically, Obama's numbers are dropping faster then the Dow Jones in a sell off, they lost New Jersey a bastion and stronghold of Liberalism, their close to losing the Mass. Senate Seat. if they do introduce an Amnesty bill, they'll bury it so deep they'll need a backhoe to dig it out and that wont be till after the Nov elections............maybe.

Originally Posted by Reciprocity

Makes sense and totally expected,the Socialist party are on the ropes politically, Obama's numbers are dropping faster then the Dow Jones in a sell off, they lost New Jersey a bastion and stronghold of Liberalism, their close to losing the Mass. Senate Seat. if they do introduce an Amnesty bill, they'll bury it so deep they'll need a backhoe to dig it out and that wont be till after the Nov elections............maybe.

Already introduced, and has 92 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. HR 4321. If you're interested, check out Sections 401 and 402 thereof, which grant permanent residency (the legal term for a Green Card) to all persons in the US illegally on December 15, 2009.