For a Republican, Olympia Snowe seems to have a real disdain for states’ rights when it comes to health care reform. At every turn she has been trying to take power away from the states and give it to the federal government. She has been one of the biggest supporters of the “national plans” strongly [...]

The Hill is reporting that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is looking very carefully at the public option opt-out “compromise”: “I think there’s one way that could work very well and could pick up some of the moderates,” Rockefeller told reporters. “I’m looking very much now at this opt-out public option.” Under the alternative proposal, the [...]

During the final debate in the Virginia Governor’s race, Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds opted to share some of his “thinking” with the public: [Deeds said] he “shared the broad goals” of health care reform, but would “certainly consider opting out” of a public option “if that were available to Virginia.” “I’m not afraid of going [...]

When a party has had enough votes to end a filibuster on its own, we have not been able to find a single time in history where members have joined with the opposition party to filibuster a bill.

So who is the Senator willing to stand up and say they will take this unprecedented move, betray the President, the Senate leadership and their own caucus, and do this?  Who is willing to say they are going to make history?

Not Joe Lieberman, because Mike Stark asked him two days ago

I just have one question for the veal pen. Where is there even one, and I mean one, member of the Democratic caucus who has said they will join with Republicans to filibuster it? Come on, you’re cheering for a sketchy plan with only a one page “white paper” that nobody has seen. Surely you’ve thought this through, and are convinced it is a necessary step to keep Democrats from voting against cloture.

So who is it? If you’re acting out of political necessity, who is this mysterious Senator (or Senators) telling you they’ll take this bold step, who don’t have the courage to say so in public?

Democrats once again are negotiating with themselves.  And who pays the price for this convenient piece of political calculus if they turn out to be wrong and insurance industry money is successful in getting red states like yours to opt out of a public option?  Well, Rikyrah over at Jack & Jill Politics gives us a pretty good idea.

I’ve already said that I think allowing states to “opt-out” of a public option is an immoral and unnecessary political compromise, an attempt to let Democrats off the very hook that so many have worked so hard to get them on.  But I cannot say it as well as Rikyrah does.