Comments on: Jon Tester Would Vote For Schumer’s Public Option: That’s 51

By: readerOfTeaLeaves

readerOfTeaLeaves — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:23:44 +0000

Yup - good memory you have there ;-))

And that was located by EW reader/commenter and all-around genius ‘William Ockham’. EW had quite a droll post about it.

By: bmull

bmull — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:19:07 +0000

There’s no way Progressives can accept this “opt out” idea. We have 51 Senators on record in support of at least the 50-state negotiated rates public option. Settling for “opt out” does not get us to 60, if it even gets any votes at all. So who needs it…

At some point the public option becomes so diluted that it doesn’t help anyone. We may already be there, in fact. But that means everybody has to be on board for fixing it. Those Senators who sabotaged the plan can’t just turn around in a few years and say, “This plan requires too much fixing. We’re opting out and if you ever get it fixed, maybe we’ll take another look.”

No, that’s not how it works. It’s our plan. We ALL work together to make it work.

By: letsgetitdone

letsgetitdone — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:34:34 +0000

Yes, but does his definition of “strong PO” correspond to yours?

By: letsgetitdone

letsgetitdone — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:32:01 +0000

I think that’s not the choice. POs in the current bills are already weak. So weak that the bills ought to be defeated without an opt-out. Addition of the opt-out makes no difference to me, except that it signifies that the Dems suggesting it didn’t even have the guts to ask for a strong PO in return.

By: TomBo2

TomBo2 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:25:32 +0000

Why do we need Jon Tester, or any other Senator designated as vote 51?

The last time I heard, Joe Biden was still Vice President, and I believe he is on board as supporting Health Care Reform. So, as long as HRC gets 50 votes in favor, and on the off-chance that there are 50 votes opposed, Joe gets to break the tie.

By: gamd521

gamd521 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:10:23 +0000

An aspect of the current debate pertaining to the PO , the single payer scheme and the private insurance scheme should be established. This is that if the PO is to function at all it will ultimately lead directly to a single payer scheme, and ultimately necessarily to supplant the private insurers. There is but one condition that the PO needs to satisfy, that it offer lower premiums than the private insurers.

The polemic between those that argue for a PO plan now or a single payer scheme now becomes mute. The real polemic is between the private insurers and those aspiring to make the PO viable, because the two can not coexist.

The argument is simple. For the PO to succeed it must offer premiums that are continually lower than private firms, As long as this holds there is no need for private insurance firm to exist and once this ceases to hold there is no need for the PO to exist. Stated differently, the PO exists if and only if the private insurers do not exist.

By: Kirk James Murphy, M.D.

Kirk James Murphy, M.D. — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:00:27 +0000

congratulations – w00t!

By: mmogu77

mmogu77 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:37:33 +0000

For further discussion of how far some progressives are willing to bend over in support of the proposal for states to opt out of the public option see the Huffington Post: “AMERICA-STAN: The Progressive Movement Neuters Itself by Supporting ‘States Rights” to Opt out of the Public Option”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....16030.html

The article also discusses how the Public Option has been turned into the “Public Option in Name Only.

By: zapkitty

zapkitty — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:31:32 +0000

“That was an interesting and somewhat unexpected shot across Bad Max’s bow.”

Er… what’s so unexpected about corporations demanding even more federally mandated victims for their extortion rackets?

By: TarheelDem

TarheelDem — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:20:31 +0000

In other interesting news, the American Hospital Association says that the Baucus bill doesn’t cover enough people, so it’s reconsidering its commitment of $155 billion in savings over 10 years.

That was an interesting and somewhat unexpected shot across Bad Max’s bow.