Major liberal groups will back Obama on health reform

Jun 2 2009

Several of the country's largest liberal groups said they were prepared to spend $82 million to promote President Obama's health care reform agenda, the Boston Globe reports.

"Joining the effort are two major labor organizations, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win; Health Care for America Now, a coalition of healthcare providers, consumer groups, and activists; MoveOn.org, the massive online activist organization; and other groups that claim a total of 30 million members."

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee said the groups "would insist that any health legislation include a Medicare-style public insurance option for people under 65," the Globe reports. "'I think bipartisan is wonderful, but what is the point of having a crummy piece of legislation just because it's bipartisan?' he said" (Wangsness, 6/2).