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blue bits. red rocks.
Thursday 11 February 2010

Not only did the White House fail to crank up its own campaign machinery on behalf of health care, it also worked to silence other liberal groups. In a little-publicized effort, top administration officials met each week at the Capital Hilton with members of a coalition called the Common Purpose Project, which included leading activist groups like Change to Win, Rock the Vote and MoveOn. In August, when members of the coalition planned to run ads targeting conservative Democrats who opposed health care reform, Rahm Emanuel showed up in person to put a stop to the campaign. According to several participants, Emanuel yelled at the assembled activists, calling them “fucking retards” and telling them he wasn’t going to let them derail his legislative winning streak. “We’re 13-0 going into health care!” he screamed. “We’re not going to be 13-1! Tim Dickinson

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