Will labor oppose healthcare cave-in?
December 16th, 2009
Sam Stein at Huffington Post brings word that the AFL-CIO and SEIU are both in emergency meetings to decide whether to oppose the Senate healthcare cave-in or just not to fight for it. As a top labor official emailed Stein:
“What is really frustrating folks here is that it’s impossible to make and implement plans to pressure senators when the White House and Reid keep undermining the efforts no one from the outside can put any credible pressure on Senators because they know the White House will back that Senator up whatever they do. If the White House is going to cave to a Senator who spent the entire election campaigning with McCain and calling Obama a traitor how are we supposed to have any leverage over anyone?
“If Lieberman — who has done so many horrible things directly to Obama — can get away with this on Obama’s signature issue it makes it infinitely harder for us to pressure senators, on issues in the future, because there is no fear of retribution or coercion from the White House. They only pressure progressives, not anyone in the middle.”
Entry Filed under: Congress, Healthcare, Obama administration, Workers