McDermott_Obama.jpg

Click on the picture above and you’ll see Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott—medical doctor, child psychiatrist, ten-term incumbent—at the White House yesterday discussing health care reform with President Barack Obama and members of the House Ways and Means Committe (on which McDermott sits).

It’s not the first time McDermott has been at the White House recently to talk health care. In late April McDermott was selected by the House Progressive Caucus, of which he’s a member, to talk directly to Obama about why it’s so important to have a public option in order to make health care reform meaningful.

“It all stands or falls on that,” McDermott spokesman Mike DeCesare told me today. “If there isn’t a public option, you’re not going to have real health care reform.”

McDermott is hardly the only person telling Obama this, and it sounds like the president’s been listening. Just as important is whether most of Congress is listening (and can be convinced).

DeCesare couldn’t talk about the particulars of McDermott’s meetings with Obama but said McDermott has emerged from them—and from endless other health care meetings that are now consuming McDemott’s schedule as Congress heads toward a vote on the issue before the August recess—feeling positive.

“He is still optimistic,” DeCesare said. “There is so much momentum going for meaningful reform.”

Want to know more about the public option and McDermott’s take on it? Click here, or hit play on this:

Photo via the office of Congressman McDermott.

Eli Sanders was The Stranger's associate editor. His book, "While the City Slept," was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He once did this and once won...

7 replies on “Seattle’s Doctor in the Health Care Debate”

  1. Plus, he’s got seniority.

    Unlike that One Term guy they elected in Spokane about four terms ago who’s still there ….

    Actions. Not words.

  2. Too bad there’s no organized effort to target those senators who are on the fence about the public option. IT’s basically totally pointless to contact those who are for it, or those who are against it; you have to target the ones who have not yet made up their mind, duh!!!

    I heard there’s this guy who last yearpromised to chagne politics? and he built an e mail list with 11 million names on it? maybe he could make an effort to stir up some targeted grass roots action.

    what’s his name again?

  4. yeah, all for the purpose of getting us socialized medicine. pretty soon we’ll have socialized medicine for old people too and socialized sewer systems and a socialized army and socialized public universities, too!!!

  5. Interesting that people who don’t have insurance, or can’t afford their company’s insurance, aren’t complaining about “socialized medicine.” Perhaps they’re too busy waiting 6 hours at the nearest ER waiting to be treated and hoping the hospital won’t send a bill collector out to their house.

    Whereas the people who do have insurance –private, military, Medicare, company plan — they really don’t want anything changed because as far as they’re concerned, everything’s fine. And anyone who thinks differently is a socialist.

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