Barack Obama seeks divine intervention on health care reform

Read Politico Article Here

By SARAH KLIFF 9/22/10 10:33 AM EDT Updated: 9/22/10 11:03 AM EDT

With nothing else working, President Barack Obama is asking religious leaders to help him sell the public on health care reform.

POLITICO listened in to an Oval Office conference call Tuesday, where Obama, alongside other top administration officials, beseeched thousands of faith-based and community organizations to preach the gospel on new insurance reforms, chiefly the Patients’ Bill of Rights.

“Get out there and spread the word,” Obama told leaders from across the religious spectrum on the conference call, organized by Health and Human Services Center for Faith-Based and Community Partnerships.

“This is something that we’ll be able to look back on, just like we do on Medicare and Social Security, as a cornerstone that improves the security of millions of Americans, at the same time lowers costs and gets control of costs, both at the government level, but also for families and businesses," he added.

Obama instructed faith leaders to treat the new law as settled fact and use their perches of power to convey that message to congregants and friends.

“The debate in Washington is over, the Affordable Care Act is now law ... I think all of you can be really important validators and trusted resources for friends and neighbors, to help explain what’s now available to them,” he said.

The call included the administration’s highest-ranking health reform officials: Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, White House Office of Health Reform director Nancy Ann-DeParle, Health and Assistant to the President for Special Products Stephanie Cutter.

Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Partnerships, gave activists a rallying cry: “Get the word out there, get information out there. Make use of the resources we’ve described on this call: the website, door hangers, one pagers and so forth. We’ve got work to do.”

DuBois ended the call by giving leaders a point-by-point run down of the new Patients’ Bill of Rights that rolls out on Thursday. “These protections, our families need to know these things,” he said.

Faith groups briefed the administration on plans underway to educate the public and organize this weekend.

“We’re rolling up our sleeves to get our communities ready for reform,” Gloria Cooper, a volunteer with People Improving Communities through Organizing (PICO), who cited the Bring Health Reform Campaign, designed to both educate the public on the new law and push for a stronger provider network.

PICO is aiming to distribute 50,000 door hangers in lower-income communities within the next two weeks, the group’s spokesperson, Gordon Whitman, told POLITICO. PICO meets with the administration regularly and participated in an HHS-run call for faith groups just last week.

Peg Chemberlin, President of the National Council of Churches, who also participated in the call, has also seen regularly outreach from the White House on reform issues.

"Since the law passed there's been some discussion about what the best way to get information out on this law," she said. "There are a lot of conversations about what to do on health care, how we can be a good partner."

The White House sees the faith-based community as a key partner in spreading information on health reform issues.

"We believe community-based and faith-based can spread the word," an administration official told POLITICO. "They are reaching people every day in churches, synagogues, mosques, and secular organizations. They can spread the word about these things."

On the call, DeParle said the administration has noticed the faith-based efforts. She noted that a fellow congregant thanked her last Sunday for the law's allowing dependents to be covered up to age 26.

“I know some of you have done some work to educate,” DeParle said.

I should think the Am for Separation of Church and State will be outraged at this.

Anyway, I think I mentioned my encounter w/ a heavily religious woman who was lobbying for healthcare reform at the state level. It was quite disturbing to me.

I wonder if Sebelius will "tolerate" faith-based groups who disagree that it will lower costs and improve care

The last time one of Obama's hand picked priests spoke up things didn't work out so well. I have a better question: Does Obama even know what's in the health care bill?

Ah, an attempt to get the Leftie Jim Wallis and his "Sojourners" into the deal.

I would submit there is nothing divine about this at all. He is simply doing what all scumbag politicians do.

You gotta love this. Lefties scream and holler about separation of church and state (except when they feel they NEED them), they scream in general about "faith based groups" when there is any connection with a GOP administration.

Yet, they employ them to sing praises of a candidate from the pulpit during their attempts to get their favorite hope and change candidate elected, later to help them spread their lies and propaganda to sell the biggest piece of sell-out legislation to the victims of the scam.

If you truly believe that the state and the church should be and stay separate (I do), then church should be about spiritual issues with no political discussion.

(09-24-2010 12:57 PM)MileHighBronco Wrote:  If you truly believe that the state and the church should be and stay separate (I do), then church should be about spiritual issues with no political discussion.

http://www.breakpoint.org/features-colum...y/12/15390

Ahhh, yes. The "social justice" crowd. That article does give me pause. I have no real problem with religious individuals being politically active. It is when a church or religious group is involved that it gets thorny.

Quote:ADF is not arguing that churches should act like political action committees, or that pastors should routinely endorse or oppose candidates. What they are saying is that while many pastors and other church leaders may choose not—for various reasons—to talk about political issues from the pulpit, that should be their decision, not the IRS’s.

I agree with the ADF position. Government should not be in the business of telling churches what is acceptable speech. Nor should they be enlisting pastors to spread their propaganda.

What I observe is that there is a double standard. When primarily left wing causes, issues and candidates are supported from the pulpit, the silence is deafening (except with the wacky Rev. Wright). When it is a right wing cause or issue supported, then folks come out of the woodwork to call it improper.

This is a messy issue. There are a number of problem areas regarding free speech and religious beliefs for individuals. Examples would be those accused of "hate speech" when they proclaim their beliefs about gays, for example. To me, there appear no easy answers. I do, however, wonder if Mosques receive the same scrutiny? I have my doubts.

Thanks for the link. Caused me to rethink the issue a bit.