WASHINGTON — Partisan tensions are escalating over President Obama's plans to revamp the nation's healthcare system and push through other policies, just as Congress is taking up the heart of his first-term agenda.
In the latest sign of the combative environment, Democratic and progressive groups announced Thursday that they were launching an Internet and television campaign to promote Obama's goals and -- in some cases -- to paint Republicans as obstructionist.
The Democratic National Committee, which has absorbed Obama's campaign operation, unveiled a Web video calling the GOP the "Party of No." The ad is a montage of party leaders voicing objections to Obama's policies, ending with the words: "100 days of no."
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the group Americans United for Change will air a similar national cable ad beginning today.
The ad rattles off a series of bills that have passed since Obama took office. "Just days into the new session of Congress, Democrats expanded health insurance for children; the Republicans said no," the ad begins. "The Democrats passed equal pay for women; the Republicans said no."
In a news conference Thursday, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee blamed Republicans for the divisiveness.
"They're not interested in collaboration with this president," McEntee said, adding: "I haven't even seen a healthcare plan from these birds yet. . . . And you look at [Obama's] favorability in terms of the polls and look at theirs, and it seems they're all in the truck and they're going to drive it over a cliff. Well, maybe they should."
But Democratic leaders in the House have staked out positions on healthcare that offer little room for compromise with the GOP. Senate Democrats are poised to join their House counterparts in approving the use of a procedure that would let them pass a healthcare bill without the 60-vote supermajority needed to block a filibuster. GOP leaders have cautioned Democrats not to resort to such shortcuts.
Underscoring the fractious climate, Republicans are blocking a quick confirmation vote on Obama's choice for Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius. The Kansas governor is expected to be a crucial player in passing an Obama plan to lower the cost of healthcare and expand coverage.
House GOP leaders said to Obama in a letter this week that his party was shutting them out on a range of issues.
