Axelrod Blasts Liberal Opposition

After a chorus of opposition to the health-care bill from the left on Thursday morning, White House senior advisor David Axelrod reprimanded liberals—and called out Howard Dean—saying, "To defeat a bill that will bend the curve on this inexorable rise in health-care costs is insane." Axelrod repeated the talking point that it’s now or never: 'I don't think you want this moment to pass, it will not come back." Speaking on Morning Joe, Axelrod disputed claims made by Howard Dean on the MSNBC show and in a Washington Post op-ed titled “This Isn’t Real Reform.” Axelrod said Dean’s argument—that the current reform plan isn’t “real reform”—was "predicated on a bunch of erroneous conclusions." Aside from Democratic infighting, an agreement isn’t certain. As former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan told Axelrod: “On the issue of health care, you are losing the left, you are losing the right, you are losing the center. That looks to me like a political disaster.”