Bill Clinton, in a fundraising email for the DCCC:
Friend –
It seems like the 1993 health care debate all over again. Back then, I led the charge for comprehensive health insurance reform. I fought tooth and nail to get it done, keenly aware that millions of Americans were living in fear that a serious illness or injury could spell economic disaster for their families. Americans needed health care reform then and we urgently need it now.
But, just as I did in 1993, President Obama has run into a buzz saw of special interest opposition to his top domestic policy priority — health care reform. He is facing off against some of the most powerful special interests in Washington who’ve launched a furious campaign to preserve the status quo.
Simply put, they’re at it again. That’s why I’m calling on you to stand with President Obama and the DCCC in fighting for change right now...
Republicans have made a political calculation that they’d rather attack Congressional Democrats with sound bites and misleading characterizations of the President’s health care reform plan than work on behalf of the American people.
It’s up to us to prevent the Republican Party and their special interest backers from doing whatever they can to prevent this historic opportunity to make quality health care affordable and accessible to all.
Sounds great! Except that first of all, there's nothing Republicans can do in the House to stop health care reform. All roadblocks to reform are coming from inside the Democratic caucus -- the Blue Dogs who are flirting with Republicans in order to extract concessions watering down the House version of health care reform.
And it should be clear -- DCCC money would go to Blue Dogs -- you know, those guys who have been threatening to make common cause with Republicans to water down or outright kill health care reform. Look at who overlaps the DCCC's "Frontline" program of endangered congressional Democrats with the Blue Dog's membership list: Arcuri, Boswell, Bright, Carney, Childers, Dahlkember, Giffords, Griffith, Hill (leadership), Kratovil, Mitchell, Nye, and Space.
That's your dollars, raised supposedly to help health care reform, going to the anti-health care reform Blue Dog coalition. The DCCC email is disingenuous at best.
Remember, Democrats have the White House and dominant majorities in Congress. Any problems passing a health care bill are self-inflicted. Were the tables reversed, Republicans wouldn't have any problem pushing through their agenda unimpeded by an irrelevant minority.