Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Public option? What Public Option?

Yesterday President Obama went to the senate in an attempt to rally the Democratic Caucus to pass something called health care reform. He reiterated his commitment that it be "a bill", and that it be titled "health care reform" when it reaches his office. Well, at least someone was happy with the results:
As President Obama finished his speech to the Democratic caucus in the Capitol's Mansfield Room on Sunday afternoon, Joe Lieberman made his way over to Harry Reid.

The independent who still caucuses with Democrats wanted to point something out to the Majority Leader: Obama didn't mention the public option.

Lieberman was beaming as he left the room and happy to re-point it out when HuffPost asked him what Obama had said about the public health insurance option, perhaps the most contentious issue still facing Democrats as they negotiate their way toward a final health care reform bill.

"Well, it was interesting to me -- of course everybody hears with their own ears -- that he didn't say anything about the public option," said Lieberman. "In other words, when he outlined how far we've come on the bill, he talked about the cost-containment provisions; he talked about the insurance market reforms; and he talked about enabling 30 million more people to get insurance. He said these are historic accomplishments, the most significant social legislation, or whatever you call it, in decades, so don't lose it."
Sweet Jesus Leiberman is a dick.

And as for why health care reform without a public option is just a way to gift to the insurance industry: (via Ben Smith)
With the Senate shifting sharply away from a "pure public option," an insurance industry insider who has been deeply involved in the health care fight emails to declare victory.

"We WIN," the insider writes. "Administered by private insurance companies. No government funding. No government insurance competitor.”
And as we know from Rahm, it's all about winning. Mandated overpriced crappy private insurance for everyone! Yes we can!

I now make my way to the dailykos rec list to see how this was Obama playing 3 dimensional chess in support of the public option...

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