Gearing Up

Happy Monday. Here's what's on tap so far.

An opinion piece in the NY Daily News today suggests the Obama team start taking advantage of Wendell Potter:

Everyone is familiar with the street adage that one should not take a knife to a gunfight. They have probably even heard it way down in Washington, where the truth is hard to hear and even harder to see.

I would suggest that President Obama and his crew need to take that attitude into the health care battle with the Republicans. It is high time for the Dems to realize that you hunt elephants with elephant guns, not fly swatters.

(...)

The best ammunition for the elephant gun I have seen so far is Wendell Potter, who spent 20 years working up in the command towers for the health industry. While an executive employee of two health care behemoths, Cigna and Humana, Potter learned well how to bean-ball the truth whenever it came to the plate.

Potter has already been interviewed by Howard Dean on MSNBC and by Bill Moyers on PBS. He also has testified before Congress. But his has not yet become the household name that it should be. Obama and his crew should change that.

I agree. Now's the time to give it everything you've got. Opponents are going to be out all month in full force. Just take a look at what happened in Philly over the weekend:

When Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius and Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) came to the National Constitution Center to answer questions about health care reform, they were greeted by an overflow crowd of approximately 400 people, the majority of whom were supporters with legitimate questions.

Unfortunately, though, a well-organized, belligerent and loud group of right-wingers stood in the aisles and across the back and disrupted the town meeting throughout. They yelled, shouted and jeered, and it was clear that they were not there to participate, but instead to try to disrupt the meeting and make it difficult as possible for anyone else to ask questions.

Republicans and guys like Rick Scott are lying about reform to protect their own political or economic interests, and they are using fear and hate and scare tactics to rile up the fringe. We just have to hope Members of Congress are smart enough and tough enough to recognize the stunts for what they are and power through undaunted.