< Back to front page
Text size
–
+
Game time on health care
E-mail|Link|Comments
()
Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor
November 3, 2009 09:47 AM
It's gut check time, a liberal-labor coalition is telling wavering members of Congress.
The latest TV spot on health care from Americans United for Change tries to remind lawmakers that some of the biggest advances did not come until after lots of controversy -- and that it's time to buck up as the House prepares to vote this week on the health care overhaul.
"A great American once said that you can’t have the rain without the thunder and lightning," the announcer says over an animation of a big storm. "Social Security, child labor laws, Medicare, even the creation of the national parks. They were all born in controversy."
As the skies clear in the image, the announcer continues: "But after the storm they all became essential parts of the American landscape. Ask your members of Congress to take a vote they will be proud of for generations to come. Ask them to vote yes to make health care a right for every American."
Comment
Permalink
E-mail
About Political Intelligence
Reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors about the Obama administration, the Massachusetts congressional delegation, and other national political happenings.
News from the Washington Bureau
Obama ends first year with some progress and more work ahead
Barack Obama won the presidency on a theme of hope, with the historic nature of his election expected to foreshadow dramatic change on other fronts for supporters who had grown weary of war and worried about the economy. (Globe Staff, 12/27/09)
Amid criticism, Obama reaches out to blacks
Stung by accusations from some African-Americans that he has not done enough for urban communities, President Obama has embarked on an effort to soothe a constituency once counted as his fiercest source of support. (Globe Staff, 12/26/09)
Hurdles remain after Senate approves health care bill
WASHINGTON - Convening before sunrise for a historic Christmas Eve session, the Senate approved sweeping health care legislation yesterday in a party-line vote, moving Congress toward the brink of enacting a broad expansion of health coverage. (Globe Staff, 12/25/09)
News Analysis
Tenuous support may unravel as compromise is negotiated
WASHINGTON - The American Medical Association’s announcement this week that its member doctors supported the Senate health insurance legislation was widely seen as a key endorsement that helped sew up passage of the historic bill yesterday. (Globe Staff, 12/25/09)
GOP fights to the end on health
WASHINGTON - As jubilant Democrats yesterday cleared the final 60-vote hurdle to passing a sweeping health care bill and prepared for a final vote at 7 this morning, Republicans fired off a last-ditch round of attacks, calling the bill an unconstitutional budget-buster laden with special deals and unscrutinized details. (Globe Staff, 12/24/09)
Health fight shifts to insurer shopping
The public option is gone. Expansion of Medicare is dead. But an intense fight continues over a crucial issue in the proposed health care overhaul: how far Congress should go in emulating the type of insurance marketplace that is at the center of the pioneering Massachusetts insurance program. (Globe Staff, 12/22/09)
Mass. push saves costly engine plan
Massachusetts lawmakers, over the fierce objections of the White House, have succeeded in reviving a costly plan to build a jet fighter engine at General Electric’s Lynn plant in an effort to protect thousands of Bay State jobs. (Globe Staff, 12/22/09)
Unseasonal atmosphere on Capitol Hill, as health care maneuvers put Christmas on hold
WASHINGTON - Snowbound Senate aides have been crashing in Capitol Hill hotels, paying the bill out of their own pockets. Senators are rolling up to the Capitol steps past midnight and before dawn to vote. (Globe Staff, 12/21/09)
Despite deal on health, Republicans vow a fight to the finish
WASHINGTON - Elated Senate Democrats won the first critical procedural vote required to advance major health care legislation just after 1 a.m. this morning, one of four votes required this week to pass the proposal by their self-imposed Christmas deadline. (Globe Staff, 12/21/09)
GOP critics in Senate shaping financial overhaul bill
WASHINGTON - Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, who one month ago proposed an overhaul of financial regulations that was hailed by many consumer activists, has all but jettisoned that proposal following Republican objections and has initiated talks for a new approach designed to satisfy some of his fiercest GOP critics. (Globe Staff, 12/21/09)
