The so-called champion of single payer in the House – John Conyers (D-Michigan) – yesterday proclaimed his “love for Obamacare.”

Conyers said there are “at least 62 reasons to at least like it.”

And the father of single payer national health insurance in the House didn’t once mention single payer in his remarks.

Until he was asked by a reporter.

Conyers appeared at a briefing at the National Press Club.

“We proclaim our love for Obamacare, but there are 62 reasons for you to at least like it,” Conyers said.

Conyers was asked why he didn’t stand up to President Obama and fight for his single payer bill (HR 676) – which had more than 80 co-sponsors in the House last year.

“I thought about this quite a while and discussed it with Dennis Kucinich (D-Michigan).”

“Had that bill (Obamacare) failed, with all of its flaws, it would have taken another decade or longer to get single payer up and going. We view the health care reform bill as a platform on which we are now able to move forward.”

“The insurance lobby was for the bill, but now they are against the bill,” Conyers said. “They were the ones who invested huge amounts of resources and energy to get the bill passed. And why not? They kicked out the public option, the exchanges are flawed, and the premiums are going up.”

But Conyers said it was worth passing Obamacare – if only because the bill prohibits insurance companies from denying people health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.

In fact, Conyers knew that Obamacare was a corporate sellout.

He knew that Obamacare is a disaster for most Americans.

He knew that premiums would continue to skyrocket.

(According to a report by Jon Walker, the number of uninsured remains about the same as it was before the law was passed.)

And he knew that 120 Americans would continue to die every day from lack of health insurance.

But despite his posturing, Conyers was on the Obama team last year.

He knew that his job was to hold hands with the activists – to make them feel good.

To let them know that someone cares about them.

To let them have lunch with the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

And then to do the bidding for Obama and the corporate Democrats.

The reality at the Press Club yesterday was that the reporters were more radical than was Conyers.

The reporters pressed Conyers on his continuing support for Obama despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the treatment of Bradley Manning, despite Obama’s corporate connections.

Conyers said, in effect, that he had no choice.

“The alternative is unthinkable,” Conyers said.