That told to Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel's FACE.
Emanuel got into a boatload of trouble by shooting off his mouth for a trigger option in regards to any public option plan.
It is more important that health-care legislation inject stiff competition among insurance plans than it is for Congress to create a pure government-run option, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said.
"The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest," he said in an interview. "The goal is non-negotiable; the path is" negotiable.
One thing I have noticed is that the public is paying very close attention to the health care debate. They are listening very closely to what is being said by both sides and the White House. Rahm Emanuel needs to get out of his office, Washington D.C., and talk to the everyday person. Any trigger option in regards to the public option is not going to wash with ANYONE.
At the meeting, House liberals warned Emanuel that he couldn't count on them to vote for a bill that contains a triggered public option. "We have compromised enough, and we are not going to compromise on any kind of trigger game," Woolsey apparently told Emanuel. "People clapped all over the place. We mean it, and not just progressives."
Then we have this from Congressman Scott (D-GA):
“I think the president should get out front of it,” said Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), noting that Obama is far more popular than Congress. “The issue is, on top of the bailouts and on top of the cap-and-trade and on top of the stimulus package ... if we don’t keep the American people with us, then we can’t do it.”
He is right. Then we had President Obama in Moscow performing sweepers for his COS:
Obama didn't just feel the need to clarify Biden's remarks, he also gave Rahm Emanuel an assist in repairing the damage from the chief of staff's own controversial comments. Many Democrats were upset to read in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that Emanuel was open to compromise on whether the health care reform package should include a public option. He also spoke favorably of a public option "trigger," which most liberals oppose.
There should no compromise on the public option part of this health care plan. We know that lobbyists are spending 1.4 million dollars a day to oppose this portion of the plan. Paid for by the insurance industries and health care industries. These organizations don't care about the public and the public's demand for the public option. These organizations don't want their stranglehold over the public to be erased by any competition.
I hope the Obama White House understands the public's stand on this health care debate. We don't expect any help from the Republicans, but we demand that the Democrats get with the program and deliver a plan that the voters demand.
We are watching all of you very closely.
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