Amid Pressure From Party Leaders And Reformers, Blanche Lincoln Now Open To A Public Option
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)--a key Democratic hold out on the question of a public option--is starting to cave. In an op-ed in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Lincoln echoes the party line--"Health care reform must build upon what works and improve inefficiencies"--then breaks with her old position:
Individuals should be able to choose from a range of quality health insurance plans. Options should include private plans as well as a quality, affordable public plan or non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals as those of a public plan.
As Greg Sargent notes, that's not a full-throated endorsement. But it's certainly a step in that direction. Until today, Lincoln was only willing to say she was 'evaluating' the merits of the public option.
A couple things to keep in mind. First, Lincoln has been under fire from reformers for being unwilling to unequivocally endorse the public option--and since she still hasn't done that, it's hard to imagine they'll be fully satisfied.
Second, this comes as Democratic leaders are making their strongest push yet to unite caucus members ahead of a tough fight over health care reform. Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing the Senate Finance Committee to move ahead with a comprehensive and satisfactory health care reform bill with or without Republican support, and, relatedly, Majority Whip Dick Durbin is urging party members to oppose Republican filibusters on Democratic agenda items, even if they don't support the underlying legislation.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
Third, Walmart said she could say this.
July 8, 2009 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmmmmm. I think you may be right. But as long as she is willing to vote for cloture, I'm OK with it. We can deal with EFCA later on. Universal health care has to get done now.
July 9, 2009 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Conclusion: Pressure works.
July 8, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
As long as she's open to it and not actively against it, I'm okay with her statement.
July 8, 2009 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the pressure really is working. I am delighted. Keep it up folks.
July 8, 2009 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't get it. I'm pleased, obviously, that she appears to be backing off the opposition, but what's gotten in to Senate Democrats these days? Harry Reid is ordering Baucus around, and Durbin's cracking the whip. Who are these people, and what happened to the old Democrats?
July 8, 2009 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
They realize that if they don't deliver there's going to problems in 2010.
July 8, 2009 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Woo! Keep it up, make it louder.
July 8, 2009 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whether the public option is in the final bill should not be as relevant as whether the final bill makes health care more affordable. That is, if there is a public option and there are no subsidies and there's no requirement to buy insurance and the public option is a local one, there's no way anyone is going to benefit from this. The insurers will temporarily lower their premiums in certain markets and grab the uninsured in this manner and the public option will go under.
If there is a national public option and there are subsidies and there is a requirement to buy insurance, the public option should work to lower the costs of insurance. But, even assuming all of this, we must demand an effort to ensure that doctors are not compensated for ordering unnecessary tests and unnecessary treatment.
I don't know how to get at that. I suspect we could look at the state's worker's compensation commissions as models and try to improve these models. But, if we ignore cost, Medicare, Medicaid and the federal plan will swallow the government's revenues.
Too often, I am reminded of the federal stimulus package of five months ago, which is labeled as something that cost $750 billion and which was essentially a package of tax cuts first and some spending in certain Congressional districts. It did not jumpstart the economy -- as promised by the administration -- and it doesn't appear that this jumpstart will take shape anytime soon. Meanwhile, cities still need energy-efficient schools and better bridges and more reliable mass transit systems.
So, we have to think big on health care. We need a national public option, subsidies, cost containment, etc.
July 9, 2009 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nice, but won't make much difference considering that Max Baucus continues to insist upon trying to compromise with Republicans, and is a complete whore for the healthcare industry with a revolving door between his staff and healthcare lobbyists.
Unless they can work around him or somehow limit the huge amount of power he has over this issue, it's gonna be next to impossible to get real reform. It's becoming more evident every day.
July 9, 2009 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
It did not jumpstart the economy -- as promised by the administration --
they haven't hardly even begun to spend the money or start the various projects.
You sound like you've totally swallowed GOP propaganda on the stimulus. "The economy hasn't turned around since the stimulus passed a few months ago, it's a failure!"
Please.
July 9, 2009 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think Obama handled the stimulus bill well, at all. He allowed the right's so-called "moderates" -- Snowe, Collins, Specter, Nelson -- to hijack the debate. He's allowing these same four -- plus Lincoln and Baucus -- to hijack the health care debate.
He needs to lead. He is the president. He can't delegate this stuff to Rahm. The stimulus isn't working because it's not designed to work. It was designed to win a few more votes from right-leaning senators. I fear that health care will trigger the same result: a few more moderates, far fewer subsidies, and a health care plan that no one uses or wants.
I backed Obama from the get-go. He's really disappointed me in his first six months. If you want to know why Max is hijacking the debate, you only have to look at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and wonder why the guy who lives there isn't holding a rally in Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. The more people engaged in the health care debate, the better. As long as Max -- and a few others -- are able to sort of hijack the debate, we'll have a health care plan that's unworkable. When it's time to make it work, we'll have Republicans saying, "see, I told you it wouldn't work."
July 9, 2009 1:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
The healthcare debate is unlike any other in politics except a declaration of war. Why? Because people will LIVE OR DIE based upon what the outcome is. I am glad to see the conservative Dems inching toward a public option, but with 70% of Americans already on board WTF have they been afraid of?
This is absolutely a MORAL issue above all others, and Max and his little cabal of industry insiders cannot be allowed to "compromise" the life and health of so many millions of Americans waiting desperately to see how this turns out. I would love to see Obama step up and fight for the public option and VETO any bill that has been compromised to corporate profits and political expediency.
July 9, 2009 2:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why don't we just become a Socialist nation now that we have Hannity and Palin cheering for socialism. That would take care of having to attempt the impossible task of offering universal healthcare in a money hungry, capitalist nation.
Must watch. Socialism...HOORAY!!!
http://progressnotcongress.org/?p=2025
July 9, 2009 4:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
prediction: dems in senate will cave and we'll end up with something to please the insurance industry or we'll end up with nothing at all.
July 10, 2009 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink