Personally, it doesn't matter to me whether Snowe (or any Republican) votes for a final health care bill, as long as it passes and has a signifcant public option.
Ok, but unless Byrd can make a vote for cloture and every single other democrat votes for it as well, they'll probably need Snowe.
Just a feeling I think right thinking republicans are starting to realize they are on the wrong side of history here. There will be a bill passed, we know that now. Elected republicans see the writing on the wall.
from 538 -- Why The (Impure) Public Option is (Probably) Gaining Momentum 1. The tireless, and occasionally tiresome, advocacy on behalf of liberal bloggers and interest groups for the public option. Whatever you think of their tactics -- I haven't always agreed with them -- the sheer amount of focus and energy expended on their behalf has been very important, keeping the issue alive in the public debate. 2. The fact that the CBO thinks it will save money. 3. The seeming inevitability of health care reform, which neuters the voices of those who aren't opposed to the public option per se so much as the entire project of health care reform. 4. The fact that the locus of power has shifted from the Gang of Six -- Bingaman/Conrad/Baucus/Snowe/Grassley/Enzi to the Group of Six -- Pelosi/Dodd/Obama/Reid/Baucus/Snowe. 5. The "innovation" of the opt-in/opt-out family of compromises, which have more liberal "street cred" than co-ops or triggers and are potentially also much more politically advantageous. 6. The fading from memory of the tea party protests and the "government takeover" meme. 7. Polls in myriad swing states and swing districts showing the public option is reasonably popular in these regions. 8. Constituent letters and e-mails. 9. The insurance industry's "senior moment": forgetting that this isn't 1993 and that the shelf life of a misleading study would be measured in hours (rather than days or weeks) and would damage its credibility in the process. 10. The Washington Post's somewhat bizarre decision to make its poll showing support for the public option its lede in yesterday's paper, even though public opinion has been fairly steady on the issue for months.
When this is all over I'm going to be very interested in reading inside the White House accounts of their strategy.
ABC News is reporting that Reid believes he has the votes to pass a public option. Public Option: It's Back
Reid just held his press conference. The Senate bill will include and a public option with opt out. The bill is being sent to the CBO today for scoring. My cautious optimism has just gotten a little more optimistic.
Olympia Snowe has said she will not vote for this. It appears that there will be no Republicans supporting this bill. Therefore, Harry Reid will need to win a unanimous vote in favor of cloture from the 60 members of Democratic caucus to get this passed.
Will we ever be rid of Reid? Why my party can't come up with better leadership in Congress is a perpetual mystery to me. Reid is god-awful. Still, glad there is some apparent progress. We'll see how far this goes.
Members of congress need to either stand up with the American people or get out of the way. A clear majority of Americans want a public option to healthcare reform
Say what you want about Reid (I'm not a fan either), but he just navigated a mess in the Senate and came out with a strong public option - most people were virtually certain he couldn't pull that off. Assuming this passes, opt-out is then the most conservative scenario, with a full public option being the more liberal House version. The final bill would definitively contain a public option. (Personally, I actually think the opt-out is a better solution both politically and functionally than a full public option, but that's another discussion)
who are you? [edit] as Blade has said, if that's your criteria, then Snowe and Collins should be completely behind a public option.
It is not clear to me at all that most people want a "public option". 1. If you ask the question: Do you want free and unlimited healthcare for everyone? The answer will of course be: Sure! 2. If you ask the question: Would you like the government to establish a competitive alternative to the health insurance companies in order to force health care costs down? The answer is: Yes. 3. If you ask the question: Do you want the government to create and run a new health insurance organization, subsidized by your tax dollars, that will compete with health care insurance companies on terms that will eventually cause existing health insurance companies to go out of business and you to to eventually be serviced by this organization due to lack of alternatives? The answer is: No. As it stands, question #3 is the correct question that should be asked, but question #2 is the question that usually is asked. If you ask a leading question, you can get people to give you the answer that you want. And that is what has been happening on this question.
3. If you ask the question: Do you want the government to create and run a new health insurance organization, subsidized by your tax dollars, that will compete with health care insurance companies on terms that will eventually cause existing health insurance companies to go out of business and you to to eventually be serviced by this organization due to lack of alternatives? Why would you ask a BS question like that?
