Obama summons Senate Democrats to White House for final push on health care

In an effort to ‘close the deal’, President Obama first ordered Harry Reid to drop the public option/Medicare provision so that they could get Joe Lieberman’s vote, and now he is calling them to the White House to rally support.

Over the weekend, the President gave a pep talk to the Senate Democratic caucus on Capital Hill, and now he’s calling them to the White House to take another shot at it.

President Obama is using a full court press to try and get Obamacare passed before the Christmas recess.  He is trying to deal with the fact that some Senators have said they would not vote for a bill that didn’t contain a public option, and others that said they wouldn’t vote for a bill that increases the debt or that doesn’t have a prohibition on the use of federal funds to pay for abortions.

Foxnews reports on the Tuesday afternoon meeting at the White House:

Even an expansion of Medicare, initially proposed as a backup to the government insurance option, appeared unlikely to survive following a closed-door senators-only meeting of the Democratic caucus called to consider trade-offs necessary to assure 60 votes for the bill. Medicare is the government program providing health care benefits to the elderly.

“Put me down tonight as encouraged about the direction these talks are going,” Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said late Monday, only 24 hours after he rattled Democrats by threatening to oppose the legislation over the Medicare expansion provision.

Obama invited all Senate Democrats to the White House for a meeting Tuesday afternoon that held promise of a unity event. Obama needs every one of them to hang together to give him the 60 votes required to overcome Republicans united in opposition to the sweeping health overhaul measure.

Majority Leader Harry Reid promised to deliver.

“I’m confident that by next week we will be on our way toward final passage of a bill that saves lives, saves money and saves Medicare,” Reid told reporters after Monday night’s meeting.

Liberals had sought the Medicare expansion as a last-minute substitute for a full-blown, government-run insurance program that moderates insisted be removed from the legislation. But it drew strong opposition from Lieberman and quieter concerns from other Democrats — all of whom hold votes essential for passage.

Reid did not say flatly that Democrats had decided to drop the proposal for uninsured Americans as young as 55 to purchase coverage under Medicare, the government program now open to people when they turn 65. But several senators said it appeared inevitable.

“We’re not going to get all that we want but we’re going to get so much more than we have,” liberal Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia said.

If you oppose this health care bill, this may be your last chance to contact your Senator and let him or her know your feelings, as we are likely to see a vote this week.