Not About Whether Obama Supports the Public Option

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Not About Whether Obama Supports the Public Option
by: Chris Bowers
Mon Aug 17, 2009 at 13:00


There is an argument taking place right now in the progressive blogosphere about whether or not President Obama supports a public insurance option in health care reform. There are two quick responses to this fight:



We are at an impasse where, due to a Progressive Block in the House, health care reform legislation cannot pass that chamber without a robust public option. In the Senate, it appears that no bill with a robust public option can reach 60 votes. As such, whether or President Obama supports the concept of the public option is not the important point. Rather, the important point is whether the Obama administration, in order to achieve a health care bill, is more willing and able to pressure the Progressive Block in the House or the Conservadem Block in the Senate.

In this light, I don't actually blame the Obama administration and elite Democratic surrogates from starting to apply more pressure to the Progressive Block in the House. From the bailout, to the housing bill, to the stimulus, to the climate change bill, Progressives have consistently proven more willing to fold than Blue Dogs and / or Conservadems. Given this, the White House is simply pressuring what recent history has shown to be the more easily pressured group when it needs to pass legislation. Past collapses have made the Progressive Block on health care less credible, and so pressuring Progs is the obvious play.

Well, we have to change this dynamic once and for all. It needs to be made clear that Blue Dogs / Conservadems are just as, if not more likely, to fold than Progressives. Otherwise, not only will be lose meaningful health care reform, but we will lose pretty much all legislative fights down the road.

So, it is up to us is making sure that the House Progressive Block turns out to be stronger than the Senate Conservadem Block. That is the only way we are going to win this, not with arguments about what the White House supports or does not support in the abstract. As such, get on the phone and thank as many of the members of the Progressive Block as you can for standing firm. Make sure that the easier play for the White House is to push Senate Conservadems to fold. That is the only way we are going to win this.

50 votes, let alone 60.

Also, the author fails to point out that no bill in congress currently contains a robust public option. The CBO says the Senate HELP bill will enroll zero in a public pool and the House bill might enroll 10 million in 10 years maybe, but that's a best case scenario.

10 million does not a robust public option make. How about 130 million enrolles to start with like the person who came up with the public option, Dr, Hacker says is needed if it is to survive and if it is to contain costs and keep the insurance industry honest?

So given those problems, I would have to say the public option is dead from 10 thousand cuts administered by both Repos and Dems.

Fortunately, all is not lost. Medicare for All, HR676, the robust and intact single payer bill will be getting a full floor debate and vote in Sept . Dems would be smart to pass it in the house and make the Repos filibuster it in the Senate.

We will see.