Friday, November 1, 2013

Obama to rally healthcare backers at OFA summit



Obama to rally healthcare backers at OFA summit
By Justin Sink - 11/01/13 03:53 PM EDT
President Obama will appear Monday at a healthcare summit run by the group formed from his former reelection campaign, according to White House and Organizing For Action officials.

The president is expected to speak at an event designed to rally grassroots supporters to help the administration's push to get uninsured consumers to purchase healthcare plans available under ObamaCare.

The announcement of Obama's attendance at the conference comes on the heels of White House press secretary Jay Carney conceding that early enrollments in the healthcare exchanges would be low, partially due to continued technical problems with the ObamaCare website.

"We concede that they will be [low]," Carney said Friday. "We said that even before Oct. 1, before we had the trouble with the website because that is how enrollment works."

The White House has said it hopes to make up for disappointing early numbers with a late surge of enrollees.

Obama will also attend a "working dinner" with top OFA donors, campaign alumni, staff, and representatives from other top liberal organizations — including Planned Parenthood, AFSCME, SEIU and the Center for American Progress.

OFA described the summit as "an opportunity to hear from groups and individuals about the excitement they are seeing around ObamaCare and the importance of the six-month period when so many will sign up for affordable healthcare" in a release on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the organization launched a new initiative urging parents and grandparents who supported the president to push their younger relatives to sign up for ObamaCare during holiday gatherings.

"This campaign focuses on encouraging parents and grandparents to talk to the young adults in their lives about the importance of signing up for health coverage," Organizing for Action said in a statement.

As part of the effort, the group launched a new website and YouTube video on Friday encouraging supporters to “think about how you’ll bring it up” to family members. The page includes "conversation tips" and a "packing list" of information individuals need to sign up for insurance.

Obama's attendance at the event will doubtlessly again raise questions about the president's relationship with OFA. Watchdog groups and Republicans have accused the White House of selling access to the White House through the outside group, which accepts unlimited campaign donations.

OFA officials have deflected the criticism, arguing that nobody is guaranteed an audience with the president and noting that the group discloses its donors even though it is not required to do so by law.

Organizing For Action
Organizing for Action is the successor organization for the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign.

Note: Andrew Tobias was a contributor for Organizing for Action, and a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Michael Kempner was a contributor for Organizing for Action, and a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Stephen J. Cloobeck was a contributor for Organizing for Action, a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, and a contributor for the Majority PAC.
Fred Eychaner was a contributor for Organizing for Action, a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, and a contributor for the Majority PAC.
John D. Goldman was a contributor for Organizing for Action, and a contributor for the Majority PAC.
William E. Little Jr. was a contributor for Organizing for Action, and a contributor for the Majority PAC.
Amy P. Goldman was a contributor for Organizing for Action, a contributor for the Majority PAC, and a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century.
Barbara Stiefel was a contributor for Organizing for Action, and a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century.
Wayne D. Jordan was a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century, and is a director at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
George Soros was a contributor for the Majority PAC, a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century, a supporter for the Center for American Progress, a member of the Democracy Alliance, is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Center for American Progress.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Center for American Progress, the Urban Institute (think tank), the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and the Climate Reality Project.
George Soros backs pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC
Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY 12:23 p.m. EDT October 24, 2013
S. Donald Sussman was a director at the Democracy Alliance, a contributor for Organizing for Action, and is a director at the Center for American Progress.
Marcia L. Carsey is a life trustee for the Urban Institute (think tank), and was a contributor for Organizing for Action.
William H. Scheide is a senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and was a contributor for Organizing for Action.
Orin S. Kramer is a director at the Climate Reality Project, a friend of Albert A. Gore Jr., and was a contributor for Organizing for Action.
Albert A. Gore Jr. is a friend of Orin S. Kramer, and the chairman for the Climate Reality Project.

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