What is going on with the Public Option?

Dear Friends,

I must admit that politics sometimes mystifies me.  Here is what I do not understand right at the moment.

Polls consistently show that the American public supports a public option for health insurance.  That means that generally speaking politicians would find it easy to vote for it.

The public option is a way to control health insurance costs.  Again, a fact that should make it easy for politicians to vote for it.

The most recent count of Senators that have indicated support for including a public option in reconciliation bill indicates that it is likely that there are more than 50 votes, especially if you include Vice President Biden.  The most recent count at whipcongress.com reports that 24 have signed Senator Bennet's letter, 19 have given public statements in support, 4 have given statements on video and 4 more are very likely based on their previous support for a public option.  The count by Senator is here.  It is important to remember that this push for the public option has been done without any help from the Democratic leadership in the House or Senate or from President Obama.  I look at this push for a public option as grass roots politics at work.  If your Senator has not indicated her or his support for a public option through reconciliation, call or write them now.

Joe Shoemaker, a spokesman for Senator Durban (a Democrat from Illinois but more importantly the majority whip, the person that gets the votes for the majority caucus), has said,

I want to be crystal clear: Sen. Durbin and the rest of the Senate Leadership will be aggressively whipping FOR the public option if it is included in the reconciliation bill the House sends over.

So unless the Senators who have indicated support for the public option through reconciliation were lying about that support, it seems like almost a certainty that with some arm twisting and support from President Obama and Vice President Biden, including his vote, that the Senate would have 51 votes to pass the public option through reconciliation.  All that needs to happen is for the House reconciliation bill to have a public option in it.

It would be easy for the House reconciliation bill to have a public option in it.  It is popular with the American people, it saves money, it was passed by the House before and the House Democratic leadership has been supportive of the public option.  The problem is here is what Speaker Pelosi said yesterday:

I'm quite sad that a public option isn't in there. But it isn't a case of it's not in there because the Senate is whipping against it. It's not in there because they don't have the votes to have it in there.

She is sad that the public option isn't in the House reconciliation bill.  She can solve that problem.  She is the Speaker of the House, and she has the votes in the House to pass it.  So it does not have to be "sad that it isn't in there".  The Speaker tries to explain why the public option is not in the House reconciliation bill.  She blames the lack of votes in the Senate.  Perhaps if she reads this post, she will understand that there are the votes and the Senate Majority Whip is ready to whip for it and be sure that there are the votes for it.

What are the possible explanations?

1. Some deal has been cut with somebody to keep the public option out by the President or the Speaker or Senator Reid or all of them or some other people in the Democratic leadership.  I hope that is not the case.
2. The Democratic Senators that have indicated their support for including a public option through reconciliation are lying about that support.  I hope that is not the case.
3. The Democratic leadership is totally incompetent.  I hope that is not the case.

Let me know if you have other explanations, because I do not like any of the ones that I have come up with.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal