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Collins 'Not A Fan' Of Carper Public Option Amendment
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
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White House officials and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have been courting Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)--likely the only other 'gettable' Republican on health care--for some time now. With the bill on the floor, though, it's crunch time for Democrats if they hope to bring her from the "no" column into the "yes" column--or at least into the "I won't filibuster" column. And they're not there yet.
Collins has long been opposed to all manner of public option proposals, including the trigger compromise offered by her Maine colleague Olympia Snowe. Today, Collins told reporters she isn't budging: "I made very clear that I could not support the bill as it's currently drafted, and that there would have to be substantial changes, but I certainly hope that that will be possible."
What about a public option compromise--proposed by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)--modeled in part on Snowe's trigger? "I'm not a fan," Collins said.
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traitorjoe
December 1, 2009 1:32 PM
We certainly don't want the majority of the public or the senate to be heard, please let these egomaniacs beholden to the health care industry keep costs high and coverage options down.
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runfastandwin
December 1, 2009 2:28 PM
Senator Reid, if ever there was an issue that required an actual filibuster instead of "cloture" this is it. Please don't let us down.
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slb
December 1, 2009 2:59 PM in reply to runfastandwin
"Cloture" doesn't mean what you seem to think it means. A vote for cloture is a vote to end a filibuster; that is, to terminate the debate.
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slb
December 1, 2009 3:02 PM
All we ask is an up-or-down vote, Ms Collins. If you don't want to vote for a bill that contains a public option, fine. Don't vote for it. But don't act to prevent all of the other Senators from voting their own preferences.
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ohyeathatsright
December 1, 2009 3:10 PM
I have what I believe is a great symbolic amendment for this bill. The goal is to gain parity in the framing of the discussion about insurance premiums and taxation. It can be done in 2 ways:
All 'taxes' by the government shall now be called 'premiums'.
or
All insurance 'premiums' from private insurers, should now be called 'taxes'.
No more euphemisms.
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