How worried is the White House that it doesn’t have any Republican support for its health care rationing bill?

WASHINGTON (Oct 11) – The Democratic National Committee is canceling a television ad touting GOP support for health care reform after protests from one of the Republicans mentioned, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.

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Dole told ABC News on Sunday that he objected to the ad’s criticism of the current Republican leadership.

“I just didn’t think it was fair, when I’ve tried to be helpful in encouraging a bipartisan solution, for the DNC to run an ad that I interpreted and I know others did as a backhanded comment about Republicans,” Dole said.

This worried. Also, desperate: after all, while I have nothing against former Senator Dole I’m also not that interested in his position on health care. If the President wants the GOP to sign off on his health care proposals, there are plenty of current Republican elected officials for him to court. The complication that most of them have been repeatedly rebuffed by this administration for months (and are thus legitimately disbelieving of the administration’s motives) is a complication of the administration’s own making, and is their complication to resolve. The White House can start by apologizing to Rep. Boehner and the rest of the House leadership for shutting them out for six months.

That being said; it’s entertaining to compare the White House’s treatment of Dole with their treatment of the “Internet Left fringe.”  That’s because they can’t count on Dole’s support, and they need even it fairly badly at this point; while they do count on gay Democrats’ support, and do not think they particularly need to do anything to keep it.  Which, to be fair, is borne out by recent political history.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.