Washington

A promise to Senator Baucus around revenue has led to a taxing problem on so-called “Cadillac” benefits, but voices from Rich Trumka at the AFL-CIO and many others are point out that the tax would go to fairly thin programs including a lot of plans that are part of collective bargaining agreements.

There now seems a cadre of folks in the House and a smaller number in the Senate who are trying to hijack the bill based on stripping out abortion and taking a promise from the President as part of the license to do so.  Are we now throwing women under the bus as well?

The Times reported that some states, led by Arizona, are trying to act unilaterally to say that the state could “veto” an “individual mandate” that might come with a federal package.

The tactics seem to be overwhelming the strategy.  This is not a debate but a dog pile it seems.  Where’s the adult supervision?

Postscript!

My “friends” on the right seem to be using me as a source for an attack at yet another new target:  Patrick Gaspard, political director at the White House.

I have huge admiration for Patrick and have enjoyed my dealings with him over the years.  In almost 1400 blogs I’ve done, sometimes I don’t get it right, call it a senior moment or whatever it might be, but reading the blogsphere with me as a source took me back searching for whether or not I could be causing a problem here inadvertently.  Patrick was never on the staff of ACORN.  I double checked with people I still know there, and it appears that I dropped a stitch there.  Hopefully my misstatement won’t lead to the White House throwing him in front of the bus in this rush to neo-McCarthyism that has become so prominent. In this case, my memory tricked me.  I’m glad to carry the weight and simply say I made a mistake, and damned if I’m not sorry and hope no damage is done to a good man doing a hard job.

Let me quickly add, since I read Google alerts and have noticed that there is a attack squad at all manner of friends and associates I have had over the years, that for the formal record, I have NO friends.  If there’s a problem with me, then bring it on, but for the rest of you, if you see me on the street, just nod and pass on by, if you are worried about it.  Until we learn to all stand together and oppose this kind of blood sport political targeting, it’s going to be like this for a while.  I’m just not sure how long it will take.

Several months ago in the wake of 5000 marchers in Phoenix and the excitement of the new appointments, I was virtually assuring people that 287g was dead on arrival now.  I was wrong, and I’ll be darned if I understand why, except that I suspect the inside the Beltway part of the immigration reform movement is giving the White House a “wink and nod,” on this matter rather pushing the point that we all have to see something happen NOW, not just a fight for a bill that may or may not happen over the next year.

There is low lying fruit that this movement needs to pick now.  287g and Arpaio have to be terminated and slapped down.  The DREAM act around immigrant education has to be passed this year.  There’s more.  We have to shake the tree though to pick this fruit.

When the White House Summit around immigration rolls out, perhaps there should be some people in a vigil or a picket line around the White House reminding the President and the Secretary that there needs to be action now?  This needs to be part of the debate and the arsenal.

I heard a true story from a friend about a meeting two months ago between Patrick Gaspard, the White House political director, and leaders of the immigration reform movement from LULAC and other groups.  Patrick, who I know well, told a story in that meeting that he said President Obama often tells about a meeting around civil rights between legendary labor and civil rights leader, A. Philip Randolph, and President Roosevelt on the topic of integrating the military.  The President said that he agreed with Randolph.  Randolph said, then let’s make it happen.  Roosevelt said that until there were 100,000 people in the streets outside the White House, there was no way to get it done.

My friend was not sure that anyone heard Patrick.  Knowing him, I think he issued the movement a work order, and now we need to get it done.

This is not just the time for lobbying.  This is the time to turn up the heat and demand results now, not later.