Obama campaigns for floundering Mass. Democrat

[Confederate Kahanist]

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=858208ftp://


BOSTON - His agenda at risk, President Barack Obama fought on Sunday to save a sinking Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and the critical 60th vote needed for his health care plan while the White House and congressional Democrats scrambled to pass the legislation quickly in case of a loss.

 

"When the chips are down, when the tough votes come on the fights that matter to middle-class families around this Commonwealth, who is going to be on your side?" the president asked during a rally for embattled nominee Martha Coakley as he tried to energize his dispirited base in this Democratic stronghold. "Martha's going to be on your side."

 

The president also made a direct appeal to independents who are trending away from the Democrat and he assailed GOP Scott Brown. "It's hard to suggest he's going to be significantly independent from the Republican agenda," Obama said.

 

The unexpectedly tight race for the seat held so long by Edward M. Kennedy, in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3-to-1, reflects a nasty anti-establishment environment that threatens Obama's support in Congress now and heading into this fall's elections.

 

Brown, a little-known state senator, has tapped into voter anger and anxiety over federal spending to pull even with Coakley, the state's attorney general.

 

Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting that if Brown wins on Tuesday, Democrats are working on a plan to salvage their health care bill.

 

A Brown victory would mean the Democrats would lose their 60-seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

 

So, according to the AP report, the Democrats are discussing a fallback plan that would require House Democrats to approve the Senate bill without changes -- meaning the president could sign it into law without another Senate vote.