Senate Democratic aides told the Huffington Post that Obama’s refusal to strongly push for the public option is the reason it is struggling in the Senate. Democratic aides said that a “handful” of senators who are skeptical of a public plan likely could be persuaded if not to support it then at least to oppose [...]

Senator Ron Wyden’s annoying insistence that Democrats not lie to the American people about health care reform is causing trouble for the party leadership again. His office was not happy with a new talking point sent out by the leadership, falsely claiming that if you don’t like your current health insurance you would be offered [...]

The Washington Post makes incorrect and unprovable jumps of logic based on their new poll about the public option: If a public plan were run by the states and available only to those who lack affordable private options, support for it jumps to 76 percent. Under those circumstances, even a majority of Republicans, 56 percent, [...]

Blanche Lincoln is working hard to become the most stalwart defender of the for-profit health insurance industry among Senate Democrats (that is an impressive accomplishment because Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman are giving her a real run for her money). Last week, Blanche Lincoln said she was maybe open to a delayed trigger that might [...]

I previously wrote about how Olympia Snowe (R-ME) was trying to make health care “affordable” by reducing the minimum definition of what qualifies as “insurance.” Her solution to the fact that real health insurance would still be unaffordable for millions if the nation adopted the bill she wrote: let everyone buy worthless junk insurance. This [...]

Surprise! Americans don’t really care about Snowe’s vote–what they really want is a public option. Roland Burris will not vote for a bill without a real public option. An individual mandate without a public option should scare elected Democrats–and it has. An excise tax on health insurance benefits is middle class regressive because the super [...]

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that Americans dramatically prefer a Democratic-votes-only bill with a public option compared to bipartisan bill without one: Faced with a basic strategic choice that soon may confront the administration and Democratic congressional leaders, a slim majority of Americans, 51 percent, would prefer a reform plan that included some [...]

On Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s website, under health care reform, there is a debunking common myths section. The very first myth debunked is that:  Myth: The Public Plan Is No Longer An Option Senator Reid supports the creation of a public option that would keep the insurance companies honest and provide care that puts [...]

Besides on a few broad points, Obama has refused to strongly back almost any part of health care reform. The candidate who campaigned on “Yes, we can,” sent his advisors to the Sunday shows to deliver a message of, “yes, we might.”   White House spokespeople refused to lay out Obama’s position on almost anything related [...]

In an interview with the AP, Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) reaffirmed his commitment to a real public option: “I would not support a bill that does not have a public option,” Burris, 72, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “That position will not change.” By public option, Burris means a real public [...]