Comments on: Prospects For a Public Option From the Senate Finance Committee

By: Criggs

Criggs — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:06:46 +0000

There are no fewer than 8 Dem senators cool on the public option who have every right to oppose it since they come from diehard conservative/McCain states. That means that there is no way, even under the fairest of circumstances, that the public option will ever get more than 52 votes in the Senate.

Which means that budget reconciliation MUST be the way.

However, that still leaves ten Dem senators cool to the public option who come from Obama states and who therefore have no right to oppose it, and therefore need to be pressured, primaried, challenged, etc. in order to get them in line and to do the right thing. And, of course, two of these senators actually sit on the Finance Committee, Carper DE and Nelson FL.

Since Arkansas appears to support the public option, I have no particular problem with leaning on Lincoln. However I think Carper and Nelson need to be our prime target going into Tuesday’s votes.

The fact is that the public option will probably lose in the Tuesday committee votes. No fewer than three Dem senators who don’t like the public option and are from McCain states serve on the Finance Committee, Baucus, Conrad and Lincoln. I believe it is unlikely that only one of those will oppose the public option, which means its defeat in Finance is probably a foregone conclusion.

However if both Carper and Nelson flip and support at least one of the three public option amendments being offered by Cantwell, Rockefeller and Schumer on that day, then I believe that will be the signal that the other eight such Dem senators from Obama states who have also been unfriendly to the public option may also be persuadable, meaning the public option can still win in the full Senate using reconciliation even if it loses in Finance.

So to our friends in Delaware and Florida I say please, get busy! Thank you.

As for the other Dem senators from Obama states who haven’t supported the public option, we need six of them to switch, assuming Carper and Nelson join us on Tuesday. Bennet CO and Bayh IN are no-brainer targets in that regard since they are both up in 2010.

Of the remaining, two are confirmed conservaDems who are probably hopeless, Lieberman and Warner.

That leaves 4 critical votes who must switch if the public option is to survive. They are

Colorado: Sen Udall
Minnesota: Sen. Klobuchar
New Mexico: Sen. Bingaman
Wisconsin: Sen. Kohl

Yes, we can.

By: stritz44

stritz44 — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:32:49 +0000

Funny, not sure anything the libs do would be considered helping…Plus, what will you do since it doesn’t becomes law till 2014?

By: stritz44

stritz44 — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:55:14 +0000

Yea and I want a house and new car…The public option won’t be there…

By: MarkH

MarkH — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:59:39 +0000

Reduced White blood cells when Swine Flu is hitting the country if those rumors about the Bush twins and blow are true well nothing gets passed until it affects the rich.

What with all the swine in Congress you’d think we would have heard of a flu case or two. What’s with that?

By: jwill5587

jwill5587 — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:05:19 +0000

I’m so demoralized with Obama and everything thats gone on. If they include a mandate to buy expensive insurance with penalties for not having it, I’m seriously considering moving to Canada when I graduate. I encourage all progressives to consider this. It’s easy to get citizenship if you have at least a bachelor’s degree. Maybe if we brain drain the country we’ll get their attention. I don’t think I wanna live in a country where my tax dollars go to renegade c.e.o.s and irresponsible bankers but I’m still broke every month and can’t afford health care.

By: Leen

Leen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:57:53 +0000

christ all mighty what’s it going to take? Most of us have worked our asses off to get them the majority and now they are wiping their asses with our hard work and no pay

By: Bluetoe2

Bluetoe2 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:23:03 +0000

The whores in Congress gots to go with the ones that brung them to the dance. Best whorehouse in the nation. Sadly it’s really not fair to honest whores to lump them with the criminals in Congress. As Woody Guthrie liked to say “Some people will rob you with a six shooter and some with a fountain pen.”

By: jwill5587

jwill5587 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:15:30 +0000

If we took to the streets and showed a little civil disobedience we would get a public option. That’s what they do in France. We sat on our hands during this fight and waited for Obama and the dems to do everything. We forgot they’re part of the problem.

By: numediaman

numediaman — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:13:36 +0000

“There are 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans on the committee, which means they can only lose two Democratic votes and still pass the amendment.”

That would be quite a trick! If they do lose two Democrats, that would be 11 FOR and 12 against, wouldn’t it?

By: Leen

Leen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:49:33 +0000

Jane “So, in order for a public plan to come out of Finance, three of these are going to have to get off the fence.’

What else can we do besides call, email etc etc? Paint the fence so that the paint marks are on their asses permanently