Daily Pulse on Health Care Politics

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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July 08, 2009

Daily Pulse on Health Care Politics

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel reassured House Democrats last night that President Obama "strongly backs a government-run health insurance plan, seeking to quell a firestorm among liberals upset at Emanuel's comments in the Wall Street Journal that suggested such a plan could be delayed," according to Roll Call.

This news comes as Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is reportedly pushing Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) to stop worrying about getting bipartisan support for health care reform.

Meanwhile, an important piece in the New York Times notes that as the White House loudly trumpets deals with industry leaders to help pay for reform, "what the industry groups will be getting in return is rarely discussed."

"The short-term political benefits are clear. Senior White House officials say the deals are building momentum that will help propel the health care legislation past potential opponents in the private sector and on Capitol Hill. Rather than running advertisements against the White House, the most influential players in the industry are inside the room negotiating with administration officials and leading lawmakers."

"But some lawmakers said the deals, while seemingly helpful, could raise false expectations by obscuring how much the industry is demanding for its concessions."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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July 08, 2009