Thousands of union members rallied for Obamacare on Capitol Hill today in a massive display of union outreach that threatened to deliver more votes for a controversial “public plan” option.
The rally came on the heels of Obama raising the possibility that unions would be exempt from taxing health care benefits. Obama said he was open to imposing new taxes on Americans who are not union members, which is a principle he adamantly opposed during his presidential campaign.
The hypocrisy was easily explained by one Republican strategist who was closely following health care developments on the Hill.
"Is it any surprise that unions are one of he greatest contributors to the Democratic party, and that they're now exempt from one of the most controversial taxes he's considering?" he asked. "It's not illegal, but gosh, does it look bad."
Unions were pushing for new health care legislation this year that would, in theory, cover nearly 50 million uninsured Americans. There was a star-studded line up at the rally, including actress Edie Falco, Sens. Sherrod Brown, Chuck Schumer and Bob Menendez, and Howard Dean. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), ACORN, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Health Care For America NOW! were the primary sponsors.
Falco talked about the perils of health insurance in her industry.
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