In a make or break move, President Barack Obama on Friday challenged three dozen Republicans and Democrats to participate in a one-of-a-kind televised summit this month to thrash out a deal on health care.
House Republicans immediately greeted the invite to the Feb. 25 event with derision, casting doubt on whether it would yield any bipartisan agreement to extend coverage to millions of Americans and rein in medical costs. "We need answers before we know if the White House is more interested in partisan theater than in facilitating a productive dialogue about solutions," said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was more receptive, saying he would work with the White House "to maximize the effectiveness of the meeting."
The summit is considered a last, best attempt to revive Obama's yearlong quest, now stalled after Democrats lost their filibuster-proof Senate majority. Yet since Obama proposed the summit last weekend, Republicans and Democrats have voiced skepticism, with some in the GOP wondering if it would be nothing but a spectacle that could benefit the president at their expense.
By presiding over a meeting with three dozen lawmakers trying to get a word in edgewise, Obama may be able to dominate the conversation and the visual images. That's what many Democrats say he did at a Jan. 29 session when he faced a roomful of GOP House members in Baltimore, controlling the microphone for much of the event.
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2 comments:
Step into my parlor said the spider to the fly.
The Dumbocrats are working behind the scenes top pass this healthcare takeover without the Republicans.
This is nothing more than an attempt to blame the Republicans for the dead bill and try to paint them as obstructionists when the vast majority of the people in this country have repeatedly said WE DON'T WANT THIS OBAMACARE!
Another joke from the village idiot.
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