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Hey Rahm: Twist An Arm in Support of the Public Option, Not Against It
Trumka Scheduled To Meet With Rahm Today To Cut Deal on Public Option
Sep 30, 2009
We hoped it wasn't true. We hoped that when Richard Trumka committed to back a public option and threatened to withhold support from Democrats who wouldn't vote for one that it wasn't just pre-convention rhetoric.
But then the big guns came out -- Baucus decided that rather than
taxing the rich, he would tax the health care plans that seriously
affected AFL-CIO workers who had given up wage hikes in exchange for
comprehensive health care coverage over years in contract
negotiations. When Gerry McEntee rightly called the Baucus bill
"bullshit" from the floor of the convention, Nancy Pelosi was then dispatched to say they were considering the same thing in the House.
I defy anyone to find me one single example of the White House
twisting one arm for a public option. Just one. But when Rahm and
Trumka meet today, it will be after a month of very serious threats to
the AFL-CIO carried out at the highest levels. It's the kind of "arm
twisting" that only the executive branch is capable of, and it has been
done to crush support for a public option, not opposition.
I wrote recently about the fact that people within the AFL-CIO were
getting tremendous pressure from the White House to push Trumka into
backing down. And sources familiar with the situation say that since
the other unions outside the AFL have already caved and are kicking
Rahm's trigger football, Trumka feels he has little support for his
position and no choice but to relent.
Contact the AFL-CIO and let them know that you support Richard
Trumka and his commitment to the public option. Let him know that
staying true to that commitment is extremely important to those of us
who strongly support labor.
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We hoped it wasn't true. We hoped that when Richard Trumka committed to back a public option and threatened to withhold support from Democrats who wouldn't vote for one that it wasn't just pre-convention rhetoric.
But then the big guns came out -- Baucus decided that rather than
taxing the rich, he would tax the health care plans that seriously
affected AFL-CIO workers who had given up wage hikes in exchange for
comprehensive health care coverage over years in contract
negotiations. When Gerry McEntee rightly called the Baucus bill
"bullshit" from the floor of the convention, Nancy Pelosi was then dispatched to say they were considering the same thing in the House.
I defy anyone to find me one single example of the White House
twisting one arm for a public option. Just one. But when Rahm and
Trumka meet today, it will be after a month of very serious threats to
the AFL-CIO carried out at the highest levels. It's the kind of "arm
twisting" that only the executive branch is capable of, and it has been
done to crush support for a public option, not opposition.
I wrote recently about the fact that people within the AFL-CIO were
getting tremendous pressure from the White House to push Trumka into
backing down. And sources familiar with the situation say that since
the other unions outside the AFL have already caved and are kicking
Rahm's trigger football, Trumka feels he has little support for his
position and no choice but to relent.
Contact the AFL-CIO and let them know that you support Richard
Trumka and his commitment to the public option. Let him know that
staying true to that commitment is extremely important to those of us
who strongly support labor.
We hoped it wasn't true. We hoped that when Richard Trumka committed to back a public option and threatened to withhold support from Democrats who wouldn't vote for one that it wasn't just pre-convention rhetoric.
But then the big guns came out -- Baucus decided that rather than
taxing the rich, he would tax the health care plans that seriously
affected AFL-CIO workers who had given up wage hikes in exchange for
comprehensive health care coverage over years in contract
negotiations. When Gerry McEntee rightly called the Baucus bill
"bullshit" from the floor of the convention, Nancy Pelosi was then dispatched to say they were considering the same thing in the House.
I defy anyone to find me one single example of the White House
twisting one arm for a public option. Just one. But when Rahm and
Trumka meet today, it will be after a month of very serious threats to
the AFL-CIO carried out at the highest levels. It's the kind of "arm
twisting" that only the executive branch is capable of, and it has been
done to crush support for a public option, not opposition.
I wrote recently about the fact that people within the AFL-CIO were
getting tremendous pressure from the White House to push Trumka into
backing down. And sources familiar with the situation say that since
the other unions outside the AFL have already caved and are kicking
Rahm's trigger football, Trumka feels he has little support for his
position and no choice but to relent.
Contact the AFL-CIO and let them know that you support Richard
Trumka and his commitment to the public option. Let him know that
staying true to that commitment is extremely important to those of us
who strongly support labor.
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