Hmmm. North Carolina Democratic Senator Kay Hagan had expressed skepticism about a public option being included in the Democrats’ health insurance proposals. Then the advocacy group Moveon.org said they would run ads criticizing her over the July fourth weekend. Then Hagan announced that she is supporting the public option. That’s a pretty clear victory for Moveon.org and for a healthcare initiative that President Barack Obama has repeatedly backed.
Yet, Obama is now urging Moveon.org and other liberal advocacy groups to stop attacking Democrats who oppose measures like the public option, or the employee free-choice act that he favors. He wants them to devote themselves to attacking Republicans. I have some advice for these groups: don’t listen to Obama. And I have some advice for the White House: quietly pass the word to these groups that you appreciate what they are doing.
-- John B. Judis