Can Obama Claim "Bipartisan" Support on Health Care?

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Health Care

(AP / CBS)

Updated at 9:45 a.m. ET with more information.

The White House in recent days has rolled out statements of support for health care reform from a handful of notable Republican leaders. They have come mostly from Republicans with waning influence and fading careers, but they have been recognizable GOP names nonetheless. But as Democrats continue to haul their reform proposals through Congress with virtually no congressional GOP support, do these statements matter to anyone?

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson (from the Bush administration) and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist are some of the Republicans who have given recent statements of support for health care reform. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, formerly a Republican and now an independent, joined them.

Former Senate Majority Leaders Bob Dole, a Republican, and Tom Daschle, a Democrat, released a statement Wednesday reiterating their support for bipartisan health care reform. The two men, along with former Republican Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, produced a bipartisan reform proposal in June.

But the remarks from these former GOP heavyweights have been filled with caveats as to what kind of reform they would like to see. Furthermore, they stand in stark contrast to statements from both Democratic and Republican Washington "outsiders" who have expressed serious reservations about health care reform.

That has not stopped the White House, though, from holding them up as a mark of President Obama's "bipartisan" approach. Culling "outside-the-beltway" Republican support served Mr. Obama well during his presidential campaign, and it could do the same in the health care debate.

"This is an effective tactic to influence general public opinoin, especially among persuadable independents," University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato told the Hotsheet.

That said, "it will have no discernible impact among Republicans in Congress," he added.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

White House officials asked Schwarzenegger and Bloomberg to put out their recent statements of support, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In his daily press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Republicans in Washington are "wildly out of step with their constituents who want something to happen on health care this year."

"There are people that have been outside of the cocoon of Washington dealing with rising health care costs … that are actively encouraging the process that's working to take place," Gibbs said, referencing Bloomberg and Schwarzenegger.

Health Care Progress Report: October 5

A closer look at the comments from these Republican outsiders shows their opinions may not differ greatly from those of Republicans in Congress. Frist, for instance, told Time magazine he is in favor of stricter regulations on insurance companies to protect consumers as well as a mandate for all Americans to acquire health care. He said, however, that the legislation currently under consideration does not do enough to control costs. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have agreed there should be more consumer protections in the health insurance industry, while the individual mandate has not come down as a partisan issue, with support and opposition from both sides.

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), pointed out to the Hotsheet that McConnell has given 42 speeches in support of health care reform on the Senate floor since June -- but that doesn't mean he is supporting the Democratic bills.

"There is strong bipartisan support for addressing health care," Stewart said. "Similarly, there is strong bipartisan opposition to what some Democrats have proposed."

Indeed, both some Democratic and Republican governors, for instance, are concerned about the additional Medicaid burden the Senate Finance Committee's bill could place on state governments.

"I can't think of a worse time for this bill to be coming," said Tennessee's Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen reportedly said.

Yet for all the influence governors and outside parties may try to wield, most congressmen -- with a few critical exceptions -- can be relied on to follow the party line on the issue, Sabato said.

"The die is cast. Republicans are not going to vote for health care reform," he said. "Obama wants to present health care as having bipartisan support for public relations purposes for the general electorate."

Even though the White House has not been able to influence Republican minds in Congress, the Obama administration is still trying to portray itself as bipartisan, with this outside support as well as through snatching up available Republicans for cabinet positions, Sabato said.

"They're trying to make the case Obama is running a bipartisan administration outside of Congress," he said.

The tactics may be having some impact. In a recent CBS/ New York Times poll, 60 percent of Americans said the president is trying to work with Republicans, while only 30 percent said the Republicans are trying to work with the president.

Support from the likes of Schwarzenegger and Bloomberg may also give cover to one key Republican -- Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) -- who may be the only GOP senator to ultimately vote for Mr. Obama's plan.

"The idea here is to at least send a message to Republicans that there are Republicans out there that are on the side of the White House, and to send a message to folks on the fence, specifically Olympia Snowe," CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris said.

It wouldn't make sense politically, however, for other Republicans to compromise, Sabato said.

"Their stratgety is focused on 2010," he said. "In order to produce a big base turnout, which is key to the midterm elections, they must strongly oppose the health care proposals, and it will probably work. If you want to de-energize the Republican base, just compromise with Obama."

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by Butcer October 15, 2009 4:08 PM EDT: Give me a break, obama a nazi and like hitler, Obama is nothing like Hitler and this is coming from a real neo nazi(me); Reply to this comment

by montanadude October 8, 2009 4:40 PM EDT

Obamacare will cost this nation another 500,000 jobs, making the unemployment rate over 10%. In my industry, medical sales, we have lost 20,000 jobs in medical sales already this learn. Learn more at http://www.gorillamedicalsales.com/landing/medical_sales.php

Reply to this comment


by slownewsday_5 October 8, 2009 5:07 PM EDT: "http://www.gorillamedicalsales.com/landing/medical_sales.php "

Perhaps the problem is the gorillas...?


by Aldymac October 8, 2009 2:07 PM EDT: In my astate the dems are on the way out, they came in power with a lot of promises about how much better they were going to do things. In six months they took a debt of less than a billion dollars and ran it up 29 times higher, then they ran the biggest employers out of the state, unemployment is higher than its ever been, and now the dems are crying because they can't pay the bills they created. They also forced the state employees to join a union, took away their state retirement fund that has worked for decades and placed it in the hands of the union. they are taking over city and county health care that has worked very efficiently for the last ten years and charging the citys and countys for doing it, hundreds of thousands of dollars per entity. All this to cover their inability to run the state, there is more of this insanity but I don't want the dems on here to think that I would embarrass them on purpose.
There is no bipartisanism in the democratic partys game, they have a majority for now and they will use it to pass all the legislation they can shove through as quickly as they can, the less that is read, the better they like it.; Reply to this comment

by hungry1968-16 October 8, 2009 2:05 PM EDT

by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 1:26 PM EDT
You mean like the Repeal of the Glass Stegal Act in 1999, which deregulated the banks and allowed Commercial Banks and Investment Banks become one again? Who was that who signed that into law? HINT: It was a democrat not a republican

by bqqkn October 8, 2009 1:36 PM EDT
Ooh, ooh, I know. Who is Bill Clinton!

Was it veto proof?

So Clinton couldn't have vetoed it, even though he wanted to, correct?

Reply to this comment


by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 2:09 PM EDT: Oh that is such BS. He could have and let Congress over ride him. He chose not to. That was his decision. Don't turn this out to be something it is not. Most of your Political Scientist would tell you he had a choice


by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 2:10 PM EDT: Oh that is such BS. He could have and let Congress over ride him. He chose not to. That was his decision. Don't turn this out to be something it is not. Most of your Political Scientist would tell you he had a choice.

He could have vetoed it, but he didn't

by hungry1968-16 October 8, 2009 1:14 PM EDT

by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 1:05 PM EDT
You know what, Why don't you look at some of the facts where Democrats got kick backs from the Mortgages. Don't sit there at your desk and play stupid. The Toxic Mortgages were the responsibility of both parties to watch. The democrats had kickbacks too. So I would watch how you word things. I could see if the Democrats had nothing to do with it, but in reality they did, and we both know that

YOU are the imbecile blaming the democrats for "all of our problems" that started "when they took control" - NOT ME.

I'm merely pointing out the fact that the meltdown happened in 2007 and 2008, because of stupidity and ultra-lax regulation enforcement, that happened YEARS before, under the republicans watch.

Maybe next time, you'll think before you type.

Reply to this comment


by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 1:26 PM EDT: You mean like the Repeal of the Glass Stegal Act in 1999, which deregulated the banks and allowed Commercial Banks and Investment Banks become one again? Who was that who signed that into law? HINT: It was a democrat not a republican

by hungry1968-16 October 8, 2009 1:01 PM EDT

by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 12:11 PM EDT
Yes but Hungry,
The Disaster began AFTER the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006. The democrats had a chance to correct it but they choose to ignore it.

Why don't you tell us how the democrats time traveled backwards in 2007, that caused all of those garbage mortgages to be written from 2002 - 2008?

Reply to this comment


by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 1:05 PM EDT: You know what, Why don't you look at some of the facts where Democrats got kick backs from the Mortgages. Don't sit there at your desk and play stupid. The Toxic Mortgages were the responsibility of both parties to watch. The democrats had kickbacks too. So I would watch how you word things. I could see if the Democrats had nothing to do with it, but in reality they did, and we both know that

by skericheri October 8, 2009 12:59 PM EDT

Whether you are for or against health reform, please take a minute to contact your Congressmen to voice support for the passage is sponsoring: H.R. 3596, the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt would require both the health insurance industry and malpractice Insurance industries to play by the same, good-competition rules as other industries...and...would strip them of various Sherman Anti Trust exemptions for violations, such as price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation.

Reply to this comment


by Mortarman29 October 8, 2009 1:03 PM EDT: I need to look that one up...that one sounds interesting!


by hungry1968-16 October 8, 2009 12:06 PM EDT: by bqqkn October 8, 2009 12:02 PM EDT
Sorry, but I thought Obama was in charge when the money was handed out left and right to the financial institutions. Like I said one foot in front of the other. Baby steps. By the way, looks like your cap locks is stuck.

You thought wrong - AGAIN.

Henry Paulson doled that money out - LAST SEPTEMBER.

Care to guess again?; Reply to this comment

by hungry1968-16 October 8, 2009 12:02 PM EDT

by bqqkn October 8, 2009 11:58 AM EDT
Instead we have someone in there that has never run a state, let alone a country. And you voted for them...... PILS, you kill me. LOL!! : )))

Bush ran a company, a baseball team, a state, and a country, and look at what a disaster that turned out to be.

Reply to this comment


by IL-Independent October 8, 2009 12:11 PM EDT: Yes but Hungry,
The Disaster began AFTER the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006. The democrats had a chance to correct it but they choose to ignore it.


by slownewsday_5 October 8, 2009 12:18 PM EDT: "by IL-Independent
The Disaster began AFTER the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006."

Is that when Bush blew $1.5 trillion on two tax cuts for the rich?

Is that when we went into Iraq unnecessarily?

I don't care who voted for or supported it - both were Bush's babies, and they have been very expensive disasters.

.


by hungry1968-16 October 8, 2009 11:58 AM EDT: by pigsinlipstick October 8, 2009 11:41 AM EDT
45000 Americans are dying every year so you
republi'con's can make a political point

by Mortarman29 October 8, 2009 11:46 AM EDT
Silly.

45,000 people die every year due to a lack of health insurance, and a neo con thinks that is "silly".

I hate to admit it, but I'm not surprised by the right's extremist "let them die" views anymore. It's come to be expected.; Reply to this comment